Better research together

The laboratory visits of Francesca Toma (left) and Nina Gray provided a broader understanding of Hereon research. Photo: Hereon/ Sascha Kilmer

When Dr Annette “Nina” Gray steps out of the taxi, she immediately makes her presence felt. Her voice is warm, her handshake firm. Her plane only landed yesterday. But while others are still complaining about jet lag, she is already making her first appointments. She is Associate Vice Provost for Research Planning and Analysis at the New York University (NYU), one of the most important representatives of research administration at one of the Unites States' best-known universities.

Promoting dialogue between science and society for the preservation of a world worth living in - that is the guiding principle that led her to Berlin last week to participate in the "Falling Walls Science Summit" conference. And so it makes sense that she seeks exchange with important research institutions in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, for example on questions of future energy supply, the sustainable use of resources or the development of innovative therapies in medical care.

Prof Francesca Toma, Head of the Hereon Institute of Functional Materials for Sustainability first invited Nina Gray to the research campus in Teltow and spent the afternoon with her at the Adlershof campus of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. On this day, both scientists had the opportunity to get to know each other and to exchange their experiences, also comparing the research landscapes of Germany and the USA. “Was Germany a culture shock for you?” Dr Gray wants to know. Francesca Toma is familiar with both worlds, having advanced her career as a scientific leader at elite institutions like UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab before coming to the Hereon about a year ago. “I see Germany and Helmholtz as a great opportunity for me. There is a stable research landscape here with funding secured for years to come, which I can plan for. The Teltow location is set to grow,” says Toma. At that moment, her determination is palpable.

As an introduction to the institute tour, we start with a few slides about the Hereon Research Center. What is striking: Nina Gray who is looking for new cooperation partners, keeps asking questions during the presentation and takes notes on her tablet. “What proportion of doctoral students do you have?” “How does the system of fixed-term employment contracts in science work in Germany?” “How expensive is real estate in the Berlin-Brandenburg area?” Some things she knows from home, other things seem to surprise her, such as the fact that 90 percent of Hereon's funding comes from the German government. “This predictability is a great thing.”

Dr Gray has been employed in many jobs in research and especially in academic administration, such as at the New York Academy of Sciences, NYU Langone's Neuroscience Institute, where she served as executive director of the institute. She was Associate Dean for the Sciences and Executive Director of the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center. In her current role, she works closely with academic and administrative leaders across NYU's three campuses and 18 schools to foster research and collaboration across borders. As a result, she continually emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration from basic to applied science.

And then it's off to the laboratories that Prof Toma wants to show her guest. Nina Gray, a neuroscientist by training, keeps asking questions here too, for example when she is shown the versatile 3D printing or looks at research robots.

The two scientists spend a particularly long time on their tour in the second laboratory. Here, Hereon colleagues are researching new types of occluders. Occluders are transplanted to prevent strokes caused by atrial fibrillation. However, when they close a cardiac appendage like a plug, gaps often remain. Therefore, the occluders developed at Hereon are flexible, as they can adjust their size like a camera aperture. They carry tiny polymer sensors that ensure a perfect fit. This research has now given rise to the start-up Sensimply. “Amazing,” says Dr Gray when she holds a prototype in her hands as if it were a precious gift. In the same laboratory, Gray also gets to see the real-time 3D printing process of an innovative, fully recyclable biomass ink.

Sustainable and functional materials - this research is catching on in Teltow. And Nina Gray is ultimately enthusiastic. She is considering how NYU could expand in Germany. “We will continue to exchange ideas and pick up exactly where we left off today,” she says at the end of a visit that was worthwhile for all sides. The focus on sustainability, and use-inspired research that bridges fundamental science to technological application strikes as an opportunity for Hereon to develop a new partnership and training of joint students with NYU. More exciting development to come on the horizon. The energy was put to good use. There's simply no time for jet lag right now.