Profile
René Ketting is the Project Leader of the Collaborative Research Project 'Nuclear action of miRNAs'
1. You are a Project Leader in the EUROCORES Programme EuroDYNA, which focuses on nuclear architecture and chromatin function. Why did you become involved in this area of research?
My field of research involves the study of gene regulation by RNA molecules. In recent years it has become more and more evident that small RNA molecules can have an impact on chromatin structure. We have therefore developed a line of research to study this more systematically, and part of that is financed through EuroDYNA.
2. Do you think cell biology research is getting the attention and respect that it deserves in Europe? Why or why not? If not, what needs to be done?
I don’t have a strong opinion on this as I am just getting involved in funding issues, having started my own lab only very recently. So far in my career I have not experienced a major lack of attention for Life Sciences in general in Europe.
3. What do you think are the main difficulties to overcome in this field? (What can be done on a European level to address the difficulties and move this field forwards?)
I think one of the major challenges for the future is how to come to grips with the wealth of information that is coming out of the many experiments performed in this field. A large part of these experiments generate high throughput data. This way of generating data often require new lines of thinking about a given problem. How do we integrate all this data? How compatible are the different data sets? How can we determine this?
4. What, in your opinion, is the added value of the EuroDYNA Programme to cell biology research in general and to you and your CRP members specifically? How do you think EuroDYNA differs from other collaborative projects?
Many of the high throughput experiments today generate data that reflect gene activity. Many of the steps that affect gene activity occur in or are associated with the nucleus. It is therefore vital that we start to better understand how the nucleus functions. And we need to do this at many different levels. These levels range from very detailed experiments aimed at solving questions almost at the atomic level to experiments that probe to ultimate outcome of gene activity, and everything in between. These different steps are very well represented in the EuroDYNA package, and therefore represent a very good example of what such a network should look like.
5. As an expert in your field, what do you think is the potential impact of the EuroDYNA Programme and its projects?
EuroDYNA is likely to have established new collaborations that will start to pay off in the future. I therefore think that the impact will not be limited to just the scientific progress that has been made during the funding period but will extend far beyond.
6. How do you see the future of scientific collaboration?
I think scientific collaboration is essential. Many of my papers have resulted from collaborations that have been forged through meetings and exchange programmes. In my experience these collaborations are formed de novo on very different occasions, but a collective such as EuroDYNA is certainly a good catalyst for such interactions.
7. Any motto you could share with us on how you do your job? What are your passions in life? What ambition would you still like to fulfill?
I just look for ways to tackle my next challenging question in research and don’t plan too far ahead. This may only make one less perceptive to new insights and inspirations.
