To wrap up the ‘tête-à-tête’ series on speakers from the 14th NYRA Meeting in Norwich, we here present the tête-à-tête with Simone Immler.
Simone Immler is a Professor of Genetics and Reproduction at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia. Prof. Immler earned her MSc from the University of Basel, Switzerland, and the University of Padova, Italy, and her Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield, UK. She spent time as a Research Fellow and Associate Professor at Uppsala University, Sweden before returning to the UK in 2017. She was awarded both a European Research Council Starting Grant and a European Research Council Consolidator Grant and received a prestigious Wallenberg Academy Fellowship as well as numerous research grants and fellowships. In 2022, she became one of the founders and Directors of the company Virilitas.
When and why did you decide to work in the field of reproductive biology?
I had to decide on a project for my Masters and wanted to work in marine biology. I ended up studying the mating behavior of a Mediterranean fish in Italy and have been hooked on reproduction since then.
Can you name the greatest success(es) in your career?
This is hopefully still to come.
Can you name a moment of failure (and which lesson did you learn from it)?
Failure is part of every success and the important thing is not to give up.
Which advice would you give to young researchers?
Put your eggs into more than one basket, never just bank on one path but keep several open at all times.
At the 14th NYRA meeting in Norwich, you walked us through the maze of your scientific career, what grant are you especially proud of, and is there one special grant that you strive to acquire?
The ERC grants and the Wallenberg Academy fellowship are very prestigious and open a lot of doors. I would like to obtain a grant from the Wellcome Trust at some point, ideally for a large collaborative project.