IFSM Young Scientist Assembly (YSA/ECR)
* All successful IFSM Young Scientist Assembly (YSA/ECR) applicants have now been notified *
The IFSM Young Scientist Assembly (YSA/ECR) brings together 50 early-career scientists recognised for their achievements and the quality of their IMC21 abstract submissions. The YSA/ECR programme also features a prestigious imaging contest, recognising scientifically stunning images from participants, with the entires being on prominent display and a winner being announced at the end of the meeting.
YSA/ECR attendees will have the opportunity to:
- Participate in round-table discussions with IMC21 plenary speakers, including Q&A sessions.
- Connect with discipline leaders to discuss career planning and development.
- Network with fellow early career researchers and future leaders.
The YSA/ECR programme includes an excursion and dinner on Saturday 29 August 2026, followed by a full-day meeting on Sunday 30 August 2026.
This programme is open to all PhD students and researchers who have completed their degree within the five years previous to IMC21 (i.e. after August 2021). Please note that at least one of your abstracts must be accepted into the IMC21 Congress Programme in order for you to be included in this programme. You must be the first author/presenter of the accepted abstract.
Keynote Speakers
Richard Henderson
Dr. Richard Henderson was originally a physicist from Edinburgh University but switched into molecular biology at age 21. He went as a research student to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, UK where he joined the team led by David Blow that worked out the atomic structure of the enzyme chymotrypsin, one of the first few protein structures to be determined using X-ray crystallography. He went on as a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow at Yale University to develop an interest in the structure of membrane proteins, working for a few years on voltage dependent ion channels. After returning to LMB in 1973, he began to collaborate with Nigel Unwin and together they developed electron microscopy into a tool for the direct determination of the structure of proteins, and applied it most notably to the light-driven proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin, from Halobacteria.
During the next 15 years, he worked to solve a number of the technical and conceptual problems which limited the attainable resolution of electron crystallography and by 1990, he and his colleagues had succeeded in obtaining the first atomic structure of the membrane protein, bacteriorhodopsin, by using electron microscopy and diffraction. Subsequent analysis of the structure of some of its photochemical intermediates has helped to understand how bacteriorhodopsin and other closely related family members function. Now 64 years old (in 2009), he has turned his attention to single particle electron microscopy where more advanced electron cryomicroscopy now offers the promise of being able to determine atomic structures of large protein assemblies without the need first to make crystals. These methods are now being used to solve many of the outstanding problems in structural biology.
He was Joint-Head of the Division of Structural Studies at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology from 1986 until 2001, and has been Director from 1996 to 2006. The Laboratory now houses about 350 scientists in four Divisions working on a wide range of problems in neurobiology, cell biology, structural biology, immunology, cancer biology and biotechnology. LMB also continues to develop techniques and methods alongside tackling challenging new scientific problems.
He is a fellow of the Royal Society and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences.
Jessica Wade
Dr Jess Wade is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Functional Materials in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London. Her research considers new materials for optoelectronic devices and quantum technologies, with a focus on chiral systems and the identification of strategies to control photon and electron spin. Outside of the lab, Jess is involved with several science communication and outreach initiatives. She is committed to improving diversity in science, both online and offline.
IFSM YSA/ECR Organisers
Distinguished Guests
Joachim Mayer
Shirley Meng
YSA/ECR Meeting Programme, Sunday 30 August 2026 |
|
| 0900 - 0930 |
WelcomeDemie Kepaptsoglou IFSM YSA/ECR Co-Chair, Jordi Arbiol IFSM YSA/ECR Co-Chair |
| 0930 - 1000 |
Special Young Scientist Assembly SessionHow to promote your science to wider audiences Jessica Wade Imperial College London, UK |
| 1000 - 1030 | Coffee Break |
| 1030 - 1200 |
Distinguished Guests Keynote SpeechesJose Maria Carazo Spanish National Center for Biotechnology, Spain. Jennifer Dionne Stanford University, USA. Joanne Etheridge Monash University, Australia. Joachim Mayer RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Shirley Meng University of Chicago, USA |
| 1200 - 1300 | Lunch |
| 1300 - 1440 |
Round Table Discussion with Distinguished GuestsAsk the IFSM YSA/ECR distinguished guests anything about their professional career |
| 1440 - 1500 | Coffee Break |
| 1500 - 1530 |
Inspiration SessionHow a physics graduate became a chemistry Nobel laureate - A lifetime adventure from diffraction to microscopy Richard Henderson Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Medical Research Council (MRC), UK |
| 1530 - 1600 |
Group Work |
| 1600 - 1630 | Report Back The spokesperson from each group will be required to provide a brief oral summary of the response of the group following the discussion |
| 1630 - 1645 | Close of Meeting Presentation of image contest winner |
Successful applicants receive:
- Attendance to the
- Excursion (Saturday 29 August)
- YSA/ECR dinner (Saturday 29 August)
- YSA/ECR meeting (Sunday 30 August)
- IMC21 Congress welcome reception
- Free registration - Early bird fee, via discount code (you must register before the early bird deadline on 17 July 2026)
- One night’s accommodation (Saturday 29 August)
- The winning image from the image contest will be published on the cover of the Journal of Microscopy
IFSM Young Scientist Assembly (YSA/ECR) Enquiries
