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“Taking part in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting was a unique experience,” said Hermann following his visit to the 75th Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau. Not least because of the distinguished guests who travelled to Lake Constance for the anniversary event, including Federal President Steinmeier and former Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. In keeping with the anniversary year, the focus was on interdisciplinarity, which is why more than 70 Nobel Laureates from various categories took part in the meeting.

More than 600 early-career researchers were invited to engage in dialogue with the Nobel laureates. Thanks to the interdisciplinary approach of this conference, participants were able to gain a wide range of insights into science. Unlike at typical specialist conferences, everyone here stepped outside their own scientific circles. As a result, the focus was on scientific principles. What should science achieve, and how can we restore trust in it? “Those were the points that were particularly important to me,” said Hermann.

The topics were discussed in various panel discussions and explored in greater depth with participants during the breaks, such as at the Science Picnic on the shores of Lake Constance. The programme was complemented by traditional lectures and ‘Nobel Hours’, during which the Nobel laureates presented a topic of their choice. Hermann found the talks by Katalin Karikó particularly impressive; she spoke about her career path, which was characterised above all by a lack of support. Despite the adversity, she was able to lay the foundations for the development of mRNA vaccines.

Hermann therefore offers a clear recommendation: “I can only urge every young researcher to take part in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. It is a unique event where you can strike up a conversation with Nobel Laureates in a completely informal setting during a coffee break. I particularly remember my interaction with Morten Meldal, with whom I was able to discuss the details of the solid-phase synthesis of biological macromolecules. In doing so, I realised once again that research is driven by passion – and that this is independent of winning a Nobel Prize.”

During his PhD, Hermann specialised in nucleic acid chemistry and is developing novel cross-linking reactions that are used to construct bioconjugates.

The einBlick provides further insights into the Nobel Laureates’ Conference