Gianni Cesareni (Professor Emeritus, University of Rome Tor Vergata and fromer Group Leader, EMBL Heidelberg, 1979-88) chats with Thomas Vaccari (Current Professor, University of Milan and former Predoctoral Fellow, EMBL Heidelberg, 1999-2004). Gianni reflects on his unconventional journey from physics to molecular biology, his formative postdoctoral years alongside Nobel laureates in Cambridge, and how interdisciplinary training shaped his scientific career. He also discusses how EMBL's collaborative environment transformed fundamental research into widely adopted technologies, highlighting phage display, plasmid engineering, and pioneering approaches to studying protein interactions.

This conversation was recorded in February 2026.

Alumni Chat contributors are members of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) community. The opinions expressed are their own and are not necessarily representative of the views of EMBL or any other party. The mere appearance of content on EMBL Alumni media accounts does not constitute an endorsement by EMBL. Production and Editing: EMBL Alumni Relations Content and Interviews: Angus Lamond and Thomas Vaccari Music: Eco Technology by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay Thanks to: EMBL Audiovisual and EMBL Design Sponsored by: EMBLEM © European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör EMBL Alumni Relations. Innehållet i podden är skapat av EMBL Alumni Relations och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.