{"id":4680,"date":"2023-07-20T13:57:15","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T12:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aebarcelona.eu\/?p=4680"},"modified":"2023-09-12T11:22:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T10:22:40","slug":"in-her-first-interview-since-becoming-president-of-academia-europaea-professor-marja-makarow-tells-us-about-her-leadership-roles-and-sets-out-some-of-her-priorities-for-academia-europaea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aebarcelona.eu\/en\/2023\/07\/20\/in-her-first-interview-since-becoming-president-of-academia-europaea-professor-marja-makarow-tells-us-about-her-leadership-roles-and-sets-out-some-of-her-priorities-for-academia-europaea\/","title":{"rendered":"In her first interview since becoming President of Academia Europaea, Professor Marja Makarow tells us about her leadership roles and sets out some of her priorities for Academia Europaea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About Professor Marja Makarow MAE<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Professor Marja Makarow<\/a> is a Molecular Cell Biologist. She has been Director of Biocenter Finland<\/a>, Vice-President of the Finnish Research Council \u2013 Academy of Finland<\/a>, Vice-Rector of the University of Helsinki<\/a> and Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation<\/a>. Professor Makarow advised the EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation in the European Research Area Board, and the Finnish Government in the Council for Research and Innovation Policy. She is a Board member of the European Innovation Council<\/a> and former member of the Governing Board of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology<\/a>. She has served as President of the European Molecular Biology Conference<\/a> and delegate of Finland in the council of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory<\/a>, and she established the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland<\/a>. Professor Makarow was elected to the Academia Europaea<\/a> in 2009. Her term as AE President commenced on 1st January 2022.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interview<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a little about your background and the key highlights from your career so far that have led you to your new role as Academia Europaea\u2019s President.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI am a national of Finland and a European, having been schooled in French, German and Finnish, and having lived and worked for 11 years in The Netherlands, Germany and France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After completing a PhD at the University of Helsinki<\/a> and a postdoc at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory<\/a> in Heidelberg, I became Group Leader and then Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at my alma mater<\/em>. With my postdocs and PhD candidates, we discovered molecular mechanisms that guide the folding of nascent proteins in the eukaryotic cell and transport them to intra-cellular organelles and the exterior of the cell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Vice-President for Research, Researcher Training and Innovation, the focus on my own research expanded into a passion to serve the research community at large. I became inspired by all the disciplines at my university, and learnt to appreciate their distinct research cultures and outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a consequence, I decided to make a career shift to positions where I could serve researchers of all disciplines, at both a national and European level. I moved to Strasbourg to serve as Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation<\/a>, which  was funded by research funding and performing organisations of 30 countries to support cross-border collaboration in Europe. On my return to Finland, I became Vice-President of the Finnish Research Council (the Academy of Finland<\/a>), and then Director of Biocenter Finland<\/a>, an umbrella organisation for the country\u2019s five biocentres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, I have contributed to the establishment, governance, management and evaluation of many research universities. I have given advice on science policy to the EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Finnish Government. I have undertaken assessments of national research and innovation systems and of research funding organisations. I have also evaluated research proposals \u2013 for example, as panel chair of the ERC Starting Grants programme.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About Professor Marja Makarow MAE Professor Marja Makarow is a Molecular Cell Biologist. She has been Director of Biocenter Finland, Vice-President of the Finnish Research Council \u2013 Academy of Finland, Vice-Rector of the University […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t