Conference Events
Highlights of the events organized by the ECR Committee at the 2025 SFRR-E Annual Meeting in Galway
The last biennial meeting of the SFRR-I, hosted by SFRR-E, took place in Galway from 3–6 June 2025, and we organised some exciting events dedicated to ECRs and beyond!
Meet the Professors session
This open-to-all session was a hit! We were thrilled to host professors and group leaders from diverse fields, including Giovanni Mann, Andreas Daiber, Clare Hawkins, Kasia Whysall, Maria Fedorova, Mike Davies, Helena Cochemé, Giuseppe Valacchi, Juan Sastre, Florian Gruber, Hozumi Motohashi, and Chang Chen.
We kicked things off with a lively academic bingo in which participants had to guess which quirky anecdote matched each professor or peer. From wild lab mishaps to fascinating hobbies, hilarious life moments to unique cultural customs, the bingo was on fire. Winners took home some well-deserved prizes! It was fantastic to see everyone mingling and having fun with senior researchers in such a relaxed setting.
ECR networking event
Right after bingo, we jumped into our much-anticipated networking night! We formed teams using our now-legendary sticker method (yes, the ones you love!), grabbed a drink, and dove into "Never Have I Ever – ECR Lab Edition”.
Highlights? Someone threw away their cells by accident, another used the wrong fluorophore, someone called their PI "Mum" (it happens!), and... some others had a romance with a lab mate (your secret is safe with us). We also had a world map where everyone marked their home country and current location, such a great way to show just how global and diverse the redox ECR community truly is!
Thank you for your amazing energy. We’ve heard from many of you that this event sparked new friendships and made the rest of the conference even more enjoyable. See you in Mainz 2026 for the next round!
ECR Sunrise Session: AI in Science – Revolution or Risk?
A huge shout-out to the brave souls who showed up early the morning after the gala dinner for a truly insightful fishbowl discussion on AI in science.
Chaired by Timoteo Marchini and Carmen Veith, the session featured:
- Albert van der Vliet (senior PI)
- Cristina Mas Bargues (early-career PI)
- Karen Guerrero Vázquez (PhD student)
- Manon Burger (Elsevier editor)
- Anthony Newman (retired editor)
- and a special guest: a Virtual AI Assistant – “Chatty”
We explored how AI is reshaping scientific writing, grant preparation, data analysis, intellectual property, and research ethics. Spoiler: AI is helpful but far from perfect, as Chatty demonstrated at the end of the session! The audience brought thoughtful, and at times sceptical, questions to the table, and the discussion could easily have gone on for hours. Thank you all for taking part!
Young Investigator Awards at the 2025 SFRR-I Meeting in Galway
On Thursday evening, the 2025 Young Investigator Awards were announced at the gala dinner. Huge congratulations to the outstanding winners!:
SFRR-E Young Investigator Awards
- Alva Casey (UK)
- Lisa Knoke (Germany)
- Anna Migni (Italy)
- Marie Jakešová (Czech Republic)
- Radosveta Gencheva (Sweden)
- Lara Rodríguez Outeiriño (Ireland)
- Ana Mata (Spain)
Elsevier Awards
- Meg Shieh (USA)
- Francesco Calzaferri (Ireland)
- Niklas Krafczyk (Germany)
OCC Awards
- Donagh Gribbon (USA)
- Mikaela Peglow-Pinz (Brazil)
- John Ivarsson (USA)
We are so proud of you all. It is truly inspiring to see the next generation of redox scientists making their mark. See you next year in Mainz!
