WORKING LIFE By Jacopo Marino
On the road again
“I
1194
sciencemag.org SCIENCE
6 JUNE 2014 • VOL 344 ISSUE 6188
Published by AAAS
ILLUSTRATION: MARC ROSENTHAL
With good research infrastructure arguably the only way to ensure and nature all around, Switzerland opportunities to carry out cuttingis a great place to do science. The edge scientific research. But profescountry ranks in the top six nations sional lives can collide with perin investing in science and in the sonal lives. The Ph.D. period can top three for the impact of its sciseriously delay or hinder life decientific publications. Coming from sions like settling down with a partItaly (where things are quite differner or starting a family. Frustrated ent), I find the wealth of resources with this prolonged adolescence, here fascinating. With such easy acmany of my peers have decided to cess to materials and services, it is leave the academic track and reeasy to test out a new idea. main here in Zurich, taking jobs in Similarly, when traveling the Zuthe country’s healthy pharmaceutirich streets, one often finds nice cals industry or in consulting. things left streetside with a note Going abroad to do science has attached: “Gratis zum Mitnehmen,” disadvantages, but the advantages Going abroad to do science indicating that this piece of furniare greater. My visits to conferences ture, stereo, or flat-screen TV is free and foreign labs have made it clear has disadvantages, but the for whoever wants it. I am passionthat the leading European groups advantages are greater. ate about well-designed furniture in my field are connected like memand have picked up several pieces bers of a widely dispersed family. that were left beside the road. Once, as I was going to the Moving to a new lab in a new place will give me the oplab on a Sunday evening to start up some bacterial cultures, portunity to share ideas, have collaborations that otherwise I encountered an old woman emptying her cellar, happy would be difficult to start, build a great network, and in time to give me a lovely Danish-style sideboard from the 1970s. establish a node of my own. I have ideas I’m eager to pursue, Today, I am no longer thinking about furnishing my Zuand I am looking forward to working in a new environment. rich apartment, as I am preparing to move again. I have That is sufficient reason to leave, for a while at least, my decided to join the group of Gunnar von Heijne at Stockbeloved Zurich. As to my personal life, my girlfriend is comholm University, one of the top labs studying the biophysics ing. She works for a pharmaceutical company in Lucerne, of membrane proteins. I have to bring my own funding, close to Zurich. She will either apply for relocation within so deadlines for applying for postdoctoral mobility fellowthe same company or look for a similar position in Sweden. ships are among the many other deadlines that loom. We will move together. The Swiss National Science Foundation has mobility felWhat is more, the Nordic countries have a pretty good lowship programs for people who have obtained a Ph.D. in reputation for furniture. I have already learned what “Grathis country, which give young researchers the opportunity tis! Varsågod!” means in Swedish. We’ll see how it goes. to travel abroad for a postdoc and then, in conjunction with its Ambizione program, to return to Switzerland and set up Jacopo Marino is finishing his Ph.D. in the Department their own research labs. of Chemistry at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. As a latter-day Ulysses, I realize that travel and relocation For more on life and career issues, see are essential steps for personal and cultural growth, and http://www.sciencecareers.org .
Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on March 10, 2015
s your English good enough?” Gian Luigi Rossi, my former supervisor, asked as we left the biochemistry building at the University of Parma in Italy on a hot afternoon in June 2006. My English was OK—but before I could ask, “Good enough for what?” he jumped in his car and drove away. When I saw him again the next day, the reason for the question became clear: I had an opportunity to spend the summer abroad, working at the University of Zurich (UZH) in Switzerland and learning state-of-the-art purification techniques for membrane proteins in the group led by Andreas Plückthun. Later, I returned to UZH to pursue a Ph.D. in the lab of Oliver Zerbe, applying nuclear magnetic resonance to the study of membrane proteins. I’m now finishing my Ph.D.
On the road again
“I
1194
sciencemag.org SCIENCE
6 JUNE 2014 • VOL 344 ISSUE 6188
Published by AAAS
ILLUSTRATION: MARC ROSENTHAL
With good research infrastructure arguably the only way to ensure and nature all around, Switzerland opportunities to carry out cuttingis a great place to do science. The edge scientific research. But profescountry ranks in the top six nations sional lives can collide with perin investing in science and in the sonal lives. The Ph.D. period can top three for the impact of its sciseriously delay or hinder life decientific publications. Coming from sions like settling down with a partItaly (where things are quite differner or starting a family. Frustrated ent), I find the wealth of resources with this prolonged adolescence, here fascinating. With such easy acmany of my peers have decided to cess to materials and services, it is leave the academic track and reeasy to test out a new idea. main here in Zurich, taking jobs in Similarly, when traveling the Zuthe country’s healthy pharmaceutirich streets, one often finds nice cals industry or in consulting. things left streetside with a note Going abroad to do science has attached: “Gratis zum Mitnehmen,” disadvantages, but the advantages Going abroad to do science indicating that this piece of furniare greater. My visits to conferences ture, stereo, or flat-screen TV is free and foreign labs have made it clear has disadvantages, but the for whoever wants it. I am passionthat the leading European groups advantages are greater. ate about well-designed furniture in my field are connected like memand have picked up several pieces bers of a widely dispersed family. that were left beside the road. Once, as I was going to the Moving to a new lab in a new place will give me the oplab on a Sunday evening to start up some bacterial cultures, portunity to share ideas, have collaborations that otherwise I encountered an old woman emptying her cellar, happy would be difficult to start, build a great network, and in time to give me a lovely Danish-style sideboard from the 1970s. establish a node of my own. I have ideas I’m eager to pursue, Today, I am no longer thinking about furnishing my Zuand I am looking forward to working in a new environment. rich apartment, as I am preparing to move again. I have That is sufficient reason to leave, for a while at least, my decided to join the group of Gunnar von Heijne at Stockbeloved Zurich. As to my personal life, my girlfriend is comholm University, one of the top labs studying the biophysics ing. She works for a pharmaceutical company in Lucerne, of membrane proteins. I have to bring my own funding, close to Zurich. She will either apply for relocation within so deadlines for applying for postdoctoral mobility fellowthe same company or look for a similar position in Sweden. ships are among the many other deadlines that loom. We will move together. The Swiss National Science Foundation has mobility felWhat is more, the Nordic countries have a pretty good lowship programs for people who have obtained a Ph.D. in reputation for furniture. I have already learned what “Grathis country, which give young researchers the opportunity tis! Varsågod!” means in Swedish. We’ll see how it goes. to travel abroad for a postdoc and then, in conjunction with its Ambizione program, to return to Switzerland and set up Jacopo Marino is finishing his Ph.D. in the Department their own research labs. of Chemistry at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. As a latter-day Ulysses, I realize that travel and relocation For more on life and career issues, see are essential steps for personal and cultural growth, and http://www.sciencecareers.org .
Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on March 10, 2015
s your English good enough?” Gian Luigi Rossi, my former supervisor, asked as we left the biochemistry building at the University of Parma in Italy on a hot afternoon in June 2006. My English was OK—but before I could ask, “Good enough for what?” he jumped in his car and drove away. When I saw him again the next day, the reason for the question became clear: I had an opportunity to spend the summer abroad, working at the University of Zurich (UZH) in Switzerland and learning state-of-the-art purification techniques for membrane proteins in the group led by Andreas Plückthun. Later, I returned to UZH to pursue a Ph.D. in the lab of Oliver Zerbe, applying nuclear magnetic resonance to the study of membrane proteins. I’m now finishing my Ph.D.
