Biomolecules | Interview with Prof. Dr. Jürg Bähler, the Session Chair of the 3rd International Electronic Conference on Biomolecules

1. Can you please briefly introduce yourself?
I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Bern (Switzerland), followed by postdoctoral stints at the University of North Carolina (USA) and Imperial Cancer Research Fund (UK). After working at the Wellcome Sanger Institute as a Group Leader, I was appointed as Professor of Molecular Systems Biology at University College London (UK) in 2009, and as Director of UCL’s Institute of Healthy Ageing in 2019. Our laboratory studies cellular quiescence and aging using fission yeast and, recently, the turquoise killifish as model systems. We apply diverse genetic/genomic, cell biological, and computational approaches toward a systems-level understanding of genome regulation and function, ageing-associated processes, and the complex relationships between genotype, phenotype, and environment.

2. What do you think of the development status and trends of open access publishing?
I am a big fan of open access publishing and making research results available without delay on preprint servers. New approaches to peer review as pioneered by Review Commons or eLife, for example, are also promising to improve the publishing experience for authors and readers.

3. What is your impression of the Biomolecules journal?
Biomolecules underwent astonishing growth while maintaining quality peer review and rapid decision times.

4. What do you think will be the research hotspots in the field of biomolecules in the next few years, and can you describe them to us?
Single-cell approaches will become ever more important, including multi-omics and live-cell methods, and much progress may also be achieved at the interface of different disciplines, e.g., between biophysics and cell biology.

5. Can you give any advice on academic research for young scholars in related fields?
Pursue what interests you most rather than what is fashionable, and be resilient because research careers involve frequent rejections (papers, grant proposals, job positions).

6. What are your expectations for this e-conference?
I hope there will be stimulating, fresh insights and inspiring discussions.