Amgen Scholars News

Photo Tour of the 2009 Amgen Scholars European Symposium

Designed to help inspire and prepare the next generation of European scientists, the Amgen Scholars program is an extension of the established and highly successful US initiative. It provides undergraduates with funding to pursue eight to 10 weeks of hands-on research experience under leading academic scientists at three prestigious European universities: the University of Cambridge, UK; the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany. 

“I found the whole experience in Cambridge fantastic,” says Deirdre Murphy, an Amgen Scholar from University College Cork in Ireland who did her summer research at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. “I felt really motivated and inspired by all the speakers. It has been three of the best days of my college life, so far. The whole Amgen Scholars program has inspired me to pursue post graduate studies, and a career in infection biology. It’s been a fantastic experience and I feel really lucky to have been given the opportunity.”

In September of this year, 59 undergraduates representing 35 different colleges and universities from 15 countries across Europe convened at the University of Cambridge for the first-ever Amgen Scholars European Symposium.

Karolinska Institute Amgen Scholars Teresa Fernandez Zafra (left), Anna Tattermusch (middle) and Laura Flórez had the chance to meet one another from across the three sites at the start of the symposium at Robinson College on the University of Cambridge campus.

Amgen Scholars, including Onur Birol of Bogazici University, presented their summer research as part of several poster sessions throughout the conference. Prizes for the best posters in each session were awarded during the closing dinner on Thursday.

Joe Miletich, senior vice president of Research and Development at Amgen Inc. and a member of the Board of Directors of the Amgen Foundation, opened Wednesday's session with a keynote on the impact of biotechnology on drug discovery and development. He also shared his personal reflections on the past and future of science research.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Sir Tom Blundell delivered a keynote address on the effect of academic research on drug discovery and development. Blundell shared why academia can be a fulfilling career choice for those interested in drug development and illustrated this with his own personal experience in the field. Blundell is the William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. In 1999, he co-founded Astex Therapeutics, which has a broad array of small molecules currently in the pipeline to treat cancer.

Following dinner on Wednesday, Scholars punted along a section of the river Cam which passes through the grounds of some of the Cambridge Colleges.

Thursday morning, Scholars including Deirdre Murphy, of University College Cork in Ireland participated in roundtable discussions about their summer research projects. One scholar commented, "I have met excellent scientists from all over the world who I am sure will help me in the future."

Amgen Scholars gathered in the lecture theater to hear keynote addresses from several scientists working in academia and industry. A number of eminent speakers including Professor Ken Smith spoke on the practical applications of research, and on their personal careers in science. Overall, the Scholars felt the symposium was a great experience.

Thursday afternoon David Klenerman, professor in biophysical chemistry at the University of Cambridge, explained how he and his colleague came up with a new way to sequence DNA that surpassed conventional Sanger methods. Klenerman and his colleague founded a company—Solexa — to commercialize their new technology. The company grew and developed before it was purchased by Illumina in 2007.

Ulrike Schindler, executive managing director of Amgen Research GmbH, talked about her life as a scientist and the creation of a site in Regensburg, Germany to conduct high-throughput screening of potential drug candidates.

On Friday, the symposium concluded with a morning visit to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, a research institute that performs large-scale sequencing, informatics and analysis of genetic variation to uncover the link between genes and human disease.