How did you and Ellen Jaspers come to agree on a Marie Curie Fellowship? 

You know, all good things start in the kitchen. And it actually was in a kitchen where Ellen’s Marie Curie Fellowship began. At that time I was thinking about how to build up my lab at ETH Zurich. I knew that Ellen had just finished her PhD and was looking for a postdoc position. Ellen was not only an academically trained physiotherapist, but also a physiotherapist with a PhD in biomedical science. So she understands both sides very well – fundamental research as well as clinical research. That was exactly the expertise I needed for my new lab in Zurich. So we met over a coffee and eventually I suggested that she came to ETH and start the lab with me.

And how did you get to know Ellen?

We knew each other from the Catholic University of Leuven. She was in a different department and I was actually part of her PhD committee. So I knew both her research work and Ellen as a person quite well. 

So you both decided to apply for a Marie Curie Fellowship to bring Ellen to Zurich? 

Well, I think the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships are fantastic funding instruments, both for us as professors and also for postdocs. When I looked at Ellen’s CV, I thought she would be the perfect candidate for a Marie Curie Fellowship. Also the project she was working on could only be carried out within a bigger network. The difficulty with clinical research is that you need a large data set to prove that new interventions might work. It is very hard to do this research within a reasonable time in only one country. The European funding offered us a great chance because one of its aims is indeed to foster the cooperation of several partners across Europe. Ellen’s project fitted into this pattern precisely, as cooperation with labs and clinics in Europe was a crucial element. Ellen now commutes between Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, where we have clinical partners with a similar interest. We exchange patient data and new methods, and we communicate intensively with each other to push the project forward. 

So you both sat down together and wrote this application?

Yes, as a professor you have a feeling for candidates who have an outstanding CV, and Ellen was one of them. But the deciding factor for me was that Ellen had already made a lot of impact with her work. Despite being quite a young researcher, the tool she developed during her PhD has already been implemented by other groups across Europe. If you do research in a clinical setting that is exactly what you want to happen.

In writing the application we demonstrated her expertise, our own expertise in the lab, and especially how they complement each other and what synergy this would produce. Another aspect we focused on was developing Ellen as a fellow. Our postdocs are not just here to be independent researchers. We also want to offer them further training and the opportunity to build up their own career, so they can stay in academia. They are the best talents we have, and it would be a great pity if they dropped out. So I believe we should do whatever we can do to promote and keep our talent. 

And what do you expect from this fellowship?

It offers us an excellent opportunity to translate knowledge all the way from particularly high-tech fundamental research to methods that we think might – in the long run – be useful for improving therapy planning. For me this is the really exciting perspective. But let’s be absolutely clear: this project is only happening because Ellen is here.

In which way do you and your lab benefit from Ellen and her fellowship?

Firstly, Ellen brought expertise to our lab that would have been difficult to find otherwise. As I said, Ellen is a physiotherapist with a PhD. You don’t find many of these experts in Europe and you hardly find any in Switzerland or Germany. Secondly, running clinical studies is an art and working with children is particularly demanding. Ellen had experience in performing this type of clinical research. So we’ve started a new line of research and built up a new network of collaborators and connections. From there we want to strengthen and continue this research line even once Ellen has left our lab. 

Would you encourage professors to host a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow?

Yes, I would definitely recommend they do so. Of course, the prerequisite is finding an excellent postdoc as a fellow. But if you find this person and if you can develop a project together with your fellow, you bring top-quality scientific expertise as well as cultural diversity to your lab. And this benefits everybody: you, your team, and the fellow. 

But don’t some professors think all the form-filling takes too much energy and time?

Here in Zurich we have the EU GrantsAccess Office and they help a lot with administration, both when applying for a grant and also later on. For Ellen, the administration and the financing part of the application was handled entirely by the EU GrantsAccess Office. They made it extremely easy for us to apply.

Ellen’s fellowship will end this year. Are you already looking for another Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow?

I’ll take Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellows any time. As soon as I spot a talent on the market, I’ll definitely try again!