Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting: A great honour for DWI scientists

The indipendent research group leader Dr. Robert Göstl and the research associate Dr. Yashoda Chandorkar have been invited to participate in the 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Conference in Lindau from June 28 to July 3.

It is a special privilege to be part of the Lindau Conference, because with almost 70 Nobel Laureates present, it is the largest gathering in the world apart from the award ceremony in Stockholm. Since 1951, the prestigious meeting has aimed to bring together numerous Nobel Laureates with young scientists to discuss scientific findings.

The intergenerational and international event is dedicated annually, alternating between the disciplines of physiology and medicine, chemistry and physics. Every five years, including 2020, the three natural sciences are brought together in an interdisciplinary conference. Under the theme "Educate. Inspire. Connect", the focus in Lindau in 2020 will not only be on top-level research, but also on discussions about global challenges.

The two DWI scientists were selected for the conference based on a proposal. This not only acknowledges their achievements in their respective disciplines - it also gives them the opportunity to assume greater social responsibility as scientists and to contribute to political appeals. In the past, the Mainau Declarations, which resulted from the Nobel Laureate Meetings, have, among other things, spoken out against the use of nuclear weapons, warned against the consequences of climate change and also positioned themselves in favor of genetic engineering.

Dr. Robert Göstl heads the working group Mechanoresponsive (Bio)materials at DWI. His overarching research interest is in bringing together tailor-made responsive small molecules of macromolecules in order to exploit their complex functionality at the material level. This is interesting on the one hand to gain access to materials with novel properties, but even more important to understand the relationship between molecular and macroscopic structure of materials more precisely.

Dr. Yashoda Chandorkar works as a PostDoc at the DWI on biohybrid and bioinspired materials. Her research topics are located at the interface between polymer chemistry, materials science and biomedicine. She is developing a light responsive, non-invasive actuation platform. Her goal is to gain insights into how cells "feel" the forces exerted on them by their environment. This improves our understanding of mechanisms and aberrations in pathways of mechanotransduction. These processes are essential for a healthy organism, but can also be involved in the development of diseases.