3rd Chembion Symposium, 8th February 2022

Female Leadership Workshop, 8th & 9th November 2021

Female Leadership Workshop, 8th & 9th November 2021, Rüters Parkhotel in Willingen

The workshop included scientifically based knowledge of different leadership styles in the 21st century. Furthermore, the participants were provided with practical skills and self-reflection to develop and enhance their personal leadership style in the sciences. A particular focus lay also on communication skills, including non-verbal and para-verbal communication, as well as preventation and resolution of conflicts. The teaching of these skills was supported by critical examples provided by the participants.

We would like to thank Dr. Imke Lode for leading this workshop. The participants had a very positive experience learning new skills.

2nd Chembion Retreat, 22nd & 23rd September 2021

2nd Chembion Retreat, 22nd & 23rd September 2021

The 2nd Chembion Retreat took place at Schloss Raesfeld at the end of September. The Chembion team members enjoyed the beautiful location, good food and interesting scientific talks and discussions.

Science Publishing Workshop, 29th June 2021

2nd Chembion Symposium, 9th February 2021

Program

Presentation & Negotiation Workshop, 23rd Oct., 6th Nov & 20th Nov 2020

The presentaion and negotiation workshop was given by Annie Bordeleau and divided into the following topics:

Focused Presentations I: Presence

Focused Presentations II: Connection and Goal

Focused Presentations III: Structure and Attention

Focused Presentations IV: Engaging a Discussion (Q&A)

Negotiating I: Harvard Model and Preparation

Negotiating II: Practice with own topic

1st Chembion Retreat, 29th & 30th September 2020

1st Chembion Online Retreat on 29^th & 30^th September 2020

Our first Chembion Retreat took place on 29th & 30th September 2020. The event was mostly carried out online due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

However, we were very happy to welcome four distinguished keynote lecturers. The online presentations were given by Prof. Dr. Kümmel and Prof. Dr. Kuhlmann of the WWU Münster and Prof. Dr. Gouaux from Portland, as well as Dr. Seifert from Bonn (see details below).

Furthermore, we had 12 fantastic online talks by Chembion PhD students, who presented their current research (see details below). A separate project discussion session gave all PhD students belonging to the RTG Chembion the opportunity to brievly present and discuss their work.

The Chembion members also met up for two online breakout sessions. During the first session we learned about the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the process involved in the application of the research training group Chembion. In the second session a lively discussion about ‚How to write a paper‘ ensued, where many interesting aspects were raised.

Keynote lectures

Prof. Dr. Daniel Kümmel
‘Peptide inhibitors of the α-cobratoxin/nicotinic acetylcholine receptor interaction’

Prof. Dr. Tanja Kuhlmann
‘How to wrap the myelin: What can we learn from stem cells?’

Dr. Reinhard Seifert
‘Even funnier: Hyperpolarization-activated channels selective for protons’

Good Scientific Practice, 16th June 2020 and 1st, 2nd, 9th & 10th December 2020

Good Scientific Practice

The primary objective of this workshop is for participants to develop their skills as ethical scientists. A well-balanced combination of theoretical input and interactive hands-on activities will allow participants to reflect on their own scientific practice in relation to relevant local, national and international guidelines and come up with strategies for identifying and overcoming scientific misconduct in their immediate environment. Participants will receive links to relevant materials and contact persons for future reference.

This workshop will cover:

1. Theoretical considerations in research ethics and their practical application

2. Scientific misconduct

3. Data acquisition & management

4. Mentoring and supervision

5. Collaboration

6. Publication and peer review

This workshop is designed in line with recommendations and rules on good scientific practice of the WWU and its faculties, the DFG and its Ombuds Committee for scientific integrity, and the German Rectors’ Conference.

This workshop was prepared and carried out by Dr. Iva Ognjanovic from the WWU Graduate Centre.

1st Chembion Symposium, 5th June 2020

1st Chembion Online Symposium on 5^th June 2020

The first Chembion Symposium took place on Friday, 5th July 2020 and was carried out online due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Two excellent speakers presented their work on ion channels. First, Prof. Arcangeli gave us an overview of her research into hERG1 channels, followed by Prof. Melacini presenting his work into the mechanisms of HCN gating.

Prof. Dr. Annarosa Arcangeli
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Firenze, Italy
"Targeting hERG1 channels for a therapeutic approach to cancer”

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Melacini
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Canada
"Mechanisms for HCN gating”

Opening Ceremony, 28th January 2020

Chembion Opening Ceremony in the Schloss Münster, 28th January 2020

“Chembion” (“Chemical Biology of Ion Channels”) is a new Research Training Group (RTG) at the University of Münster. It was approved by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in mid-2019 and is going to start its activities now. The RTG will receive approximately four million Euros for four and a half years. The international programme of the RTG is held in English and international doctoral students from the fields of medicine, pharmacy and chemistry are attracted. In joint research projects they work on controlling so-called ion channels in cell membranes. In this interview with Juliane Albrecht, Chembion spokesperson Prof. Bernhard Wünsch from the Institute of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Münster explains the challenges involved. Please continue reading...

Kick-Off Meeting on 14^th & 15^th November 2019

On the 14th and 15th November 2019, the Research Training Group Chembion held their Kick-Off Meeting in Haus Mariengrund in Münster, Gievenbeck. We were welcomed by Sister Josit and enjoyed the good food and calm atmosphere there.

The Kick-Off Meeting brought together PIs, postdocs and doctoral students from the medical faculty and the natural sciences to start off the interdisciplinary thinking and understanding aimed for by the Research Training Group Chembion.

Each day started with presentations introducing various methods and techniques, which are commonly used in the different laboratories taking part in the Research Training Group Chembion. These more technical presentations were followed by the PIs introducing their field of research and establishing a common level of knowledge. Subsequently, the doctoral students presented their results to date and outlined their plans for their future work.

As a team-building activity, the Kick-Off Meeting provided a chance for all participants of Chembion to get to know each other and offered the basis for networking. A further very enjoyable team-building activity was to go bowling in the evening of the 14th November at Bowltreff in Roxel.