NEWS "The most important thing about the Nobel Prize is not the person behind the prize, but rather that it shines a light on research and science, especially now in a world where science is increasingly being questioned," said Emmanuelle Charpentier, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry and former employee at Umeå University, when she answered questions from high school students in a packed Aula Nordica on Friday.
Emmanuelle Charpentier (centre) was joined on stage at Aula Nordica by (from left) Margalida Esteva Socias, Doctoral student at Department of Molecular Biology, Iryna Yakovenko, Postdoctoral fellow at Department of Clinical Microbiology, and Ronnie Berntsson, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, all at Umeå University. Conference host Annakarin Nyberg, Associate professor at Department of Informatics at Umeå University, listens at the lectern on the right. Photo: Mattias Pettersson.
"It is clear that both Umeå and Umeå University have played a very important role in my research, so it is really nice to be back and receive this welcome," said Emmanuelle Charpentier.
The conversation in Aula Nordica was opened by Marie-Louise Rönnmark, Mayor of Umeå, and Patrik Danielson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University. The moderator was Annakarin Nyberg, Associate professor at Department of Informatics at Umeå University. She had received a series of questions from upper secondary school students in advance. Among other things, Emmanuelle Charpentier was asked whether the high level of trust among the citizens of Umeå and at the university played a role in her research.
Emmanuelle Charpentier is today director at Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin. Photo: Mattias Pettersson.
"Yes, here in Umeå I found a warm community among researchers, a community based on curiosity, where your scientific status and where you have published your articles are less important. Of course, these things are important for your career as a researcher, but they are not everything. Many people focus solely on publications, but we also need to have a story. And a love for the story of the research you do. You need colleagues who help you shape it, who believe in it, who believe in you, and I found that here," Emmanuelle Charpentier told high school students, interested residents of Umeå and students and staff at Umeå University.
Earlier in the day, Emmanuelle Charpentier was also awarded the title of honorary citizen of Umeå at a ceremony at the Norrlandsoperan, where she said that the crunchy sound of walking in the snow in Umeå sounded like the name of the gene scissors, CRISPR-Cas9. But she also said that she loves salad, and the first salad she saw when she went shopping in Umeå was a crisp salad, which she thought was a sign that she should continue working with gene editing. But what really convinced her to move from Vienna to Umeå in 2008 was all the friendly and pleasant colleagues she met when she was here for her job interview and how warmly everyone welcomed her to Umeå and the university.
The Nobel Prize winner concluded her visit to the university by visiting her former colleagues at MIMS (The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden), where she worked as a group leader when she made the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 in 2012, which has been called the sharpest tool in genetic engineering and has revolutionised molecular biology and cell biology research. In 2020, she and Jennifer A. Doudna, at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery.
Emmanuelle Charpentier stands in front of a large information board describing her research. The information board is located on Rådhusesplanden in central Umeå and is one of several posters put up by the municipality of Umeå to mark the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of Umeå University. Photo: Mattias Pettersson.