SciLifeLab Voices: Jan Ellenberg
Since July, Jan Ellenberg has been appointed Director of SciLifeLab, succeeding Olli Kallioniemi who has had the position since 2015. Most recently, Jan comes from a faculty position at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, where he has been heading the Unit for Cell Biology and Biophysics since 2010, coordinated the establishment of the Euro-BioImaging ERIC and the EMBL Imaging Centre.
Welcome to SciLifeLab, Jan! Can you tell us a bit about your research?
I work to understand the molecular processes of cell division and nuclear organization. This includes systematic analysis of mitosis, nuclear pore complex structure and assembly, as well as the formation and segregation of mitotic and meiotic chromosomes.
The research of my group aims to obtain structural and functional measures of the required molecular machinery inside cells. We do this using quantitative 4D imaging, single molecule spectroscopy, as well as light sheet, super-resolution correlative electron microscopy, which our group is constantly developing and automating to address all molecular components systematically.
What do you hope to achieve at SciLifeLab during, let’s say 5 years?
It is a really exciting opportunity to lead SciLifeLab at a time of unprecedented opportunity for the life sciences. It has been a joy to start working with the incredibly professional and motivated team of this unique organization, which has welcomed me very warmly. I hope to contribute to fostering a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration as well as technology development and innovation, ensuring that we stay at the forefront of technology and empower the life science community to go to new frontiers. I am convinced SciLifeLab will continue to increase the impact we have on advancing fundamental knowledge, improving health, and rising to challenges resulting from climate change. To achieve this, strengthening the synergy between SciLifeLab’s data- and technology infrastructure will be key. This will allow us to take full advantage of the increasingly rich and comprehensive data we can obtain from living systems and be at the forefront of the development and use of AI to understand and be able to predict how life works. If we all work together towards these goals, solve real-world problems to achieve them, we will ultimately contribute to a positive difference in people’s lives.
What will be your primary focus during the fall?
My ambition is to get a good overview of where SciLifeLab is today, given the width and depth of SciLifeLab and the many amazing people involved, this will take a little bit of time. Together with my new colleagues at the operations office and SciLifeLab’s sites, we are currently in the planning phase of site visits to all national sites, which I am very much looking forward to.
Rumor has it that you enjoy sea kayaking in the archipelago of Stockholm – what will you explore during your free time during the colder months?
Indeed, I spent a week in the summer exploring the archipelago with my partner by sea kayak hopping with a tent from island to island, which was really wonderful. In the winter, I look forward to cross country skiing and my colleagues have suggested to explore the archipelago on ice skates, which I would love to try. And high on my least is to be lucky enough to catch Northern Lights on one of those trips!
