To bring together students and young researchers in the molecular life sciences from all over Europe, the junior sections and national junior representatives of the ÖGMBT (Austria), HDBMB (Croatia), ČSBMB (Czech Republic), BioBio (Finland), SFBBM (France), GBM (Germany), MBKE (Hungary), SIB (Italy), NVBMB (the Netherlands), PTBioch (Poland), SPB (Portugal), SRBBM (Romania), SBS (Serbia), SBD (Slovenia), SEBBM (Spain), TSB (Turkey), and the Biochemical Society (UK), have collaborated with FEBS to establish the FEBS Junior Section.

We develop joint activities and share resources, and aim to open doors for young scientists to opportunities outside their home countries by providing the relevant contacts and by fostering communication within the network. Importantly, the FEBS Junior Section is a dynamic initiative and is open to the ideas that you and your society’s members want to contribute.

Importantly, we want to encourage other FEBS Constituent Societies to join us with their junior sections or national junior representatives. For Societies without a junior section that are considering setting one up, we have written a post with ideas for how to do this.

Join us!

To support the initiative, FEBS has created an open FEBS Junior Section Room as a platform for exchange and collaboration within the FEBS Network. All young members from the FEBS national Societies (as well as other students and young scientists) are welcome to sign up to the FEBS Network and become a member of the Room. You can also follow the FEBS Junior Section on social media. In addition, if you are interested in joining the FEBS Junior Section, or have any questions about creating a junior section in your own Society, contact us to join one of our online monthly meetings.

Planned and organized events

We organize events of interest to students and young researchers in the molecular life sciences across Europe. See below for details and for links to recordings of past activities. Get in touch if you have a suggestion for an activity and please help us share the activities with your peers. Follow the FEBS Junior Section on social media to keep updated on all our activities.

FEBS Junior Section Talk Series in 2025:

Talks are announced here, on the FEBS Junior Section social media channels, and on the FEBS website.

13 May 2025. Scientific publishing talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Section in collaboration with FEBS Press. A special scientific publishing talk by Dr Duncan Wright, Dr Ioannis Tsagakis, Editor at Molecular Oncology and FEBS Open Bio, FEBS Press, titled "All eyes on me: advice to get your research further". Watch the recording of this talk.

8 May 2025. Academic talk. Organized by  junior section of the French Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SFBBM). An academic talk by  Prof. Chris Bowler from the Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (France), titled "Exploring the Tara Oceans multiverse". Watch the recording of this talk.

11 April 2025. Academic talk. Organized by the Junior-TBS (the junior section of the Turkish Biochemical Society, TBS). An academic talk by Dr Atakan Ekiz from Izmir Institute of Technology (Türkiye), titled "TCGEx – Democratizing cancer transcriptomics analysis with an interactive bioinformatics platform". Watch the recording of this talk.

13 March 2025. Careers talk. Organized jointly by the FEBS Junior Section and the Biochemical Society’s ECR Biochemistry Focus webinar series. A career talk by Dr Sofia Ahola (Assistant Professor, University of Birmingham), Dr Vitória Da Cunha Baptista (Research Associate, University of Glasgow) and Selin Tüzüner (DPhil Student, University of Oxford), titled "UK funding opportunities after Brexit: Experiences and practical guidance". Watch the recording of this talk.

13 February 2025. Careers talk. Organized by the Junior-SIB (the junior section of the Italian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SIB). A career talk by Dr Giulia Faravelli (Senior CRA at IQVIA, Pavia, Italy) and Dr Davide Zabeo (postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden), titled "Unlocking the path from lab to patient – the critical role of the Clinical Research Associate" and "In and out of academia – comparing life as a university researcher and as a facility scientist". Watch the recording of this talk.

23 January 2025. Academic talk. Organized by the Young-NVBMB (the junior section of the Netherlands Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, NVBMB). An academic talk by Prof. Jan H.J. Hoeijmakers, from Erasmus Medical Centre, the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, the Oncode Institute (The Netherlands), and CECAD–University of Cologne (Germany), titled "DNA damage repair and the impact of nutrition on the process of aging and opportunities to promote healthy aging". Watch the recording of this talk.

FEBS Junior Section Talk Series in 2024:

19 December 2024. FEBS 60th anniversary webinar. Organized by the the FEBS Careers of Young Scientists Committee and the Women in Science Working Group, with support from the FEBS Junior Section. A women in science  webinar titled "Equality and beyond" featuring Dr Erna Karalija (nominated by The Association of Biochemists and Molecular Biologists in Bosnia and Herzegovina), Dr Helike Lõhelaid, (nominated by The Estonian Biochemical Society), Dr María D. Mayán (nominated by The Spanish Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), and Prof. Tamara Lah Turnšek (nominated by The Slovenian Biochemical Society). Watch the recording of this talk.

18 December 2024. FEBS 60th anniversary webinar. Organized by the the FEBS Careers of Young Scientists Committee and the Women in Science Working Group, with support from the FEBS Junior Section. A women in science webinar titled "Equality and beyond" featuring Prof. Cecília M. Arraiano (nominated by The Portuguese Biochemical Society), Dr Hasmik Harutyunyan (nominated by The Armenian Association of Biochemists), Prof. Olga Gornik Kljaić (nominated by The Croatian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), and Prod. Peppi Karppinen (nominated by The Finnish Biochemical, Biophysics and Microbiology Society). Watch the recording of this talk.

12 December 2024. Careers talk. Organized by the HDBMB Junior Section (the junior section of the Croatian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, HDBMB). A careers talk by Karlo Skube, from Selvita d.o.o. (Croatia), titled  "From lab bench to business development: A molecular biologist’s journey in drug discovery". This talk was not recorded.

21 November 2024. Scientific publishing talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Sectionin collaboration with FEBS Press. A special scientific publishing talk by Dr Juanita Perera, Editor at FEBS Letters, FEBS Press, titled "How to write an engaging title and abstract for your research article". Watch the recording of this talk.

7 November 2024. Academic talk. Organized by the ČSBMB Junior (the junior section of the Czech Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, ČSBMB). An academic talk by Dr Hana Macíčková Cahová, from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Czech Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic), titled "RNA modifications: What we know and what we don't know about another layer of information". Watch the recording of this talk.

10 October 2024. Academic talk. Organized by the SEBBM Junior Section (the junior section of the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, SEBBM). An academic talk by David Fernández-Antorán, from the Gurdon Institute, UK and IIS-Aragón (Spain), titled "Epithelioids: A novel long-term 3D culture system to study tissue behaviour". Watch the recording of this talk.

19 September 2024. Academic talk. Organized by the RSBMB Junior (the junior section of the Romanian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, RSBMB). An academic talk by Alexandru Babeș, from the University of Bucharest (Romania), titled "Modulation of TRPM8 function by the prostacyclin receptor: involvement of G_q/11 proteins". Watch the recording of this talk.

11 July 2024. Academic talk. Organized by the Polish Junior Section (the junior section of the Polish Biochemical Society, PTBioch). An academic talk by Sebastian Glatt, from the Max Planck Research Group at the Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University in Krakow (Poland), titled "tRNAslational control of eukaryotic gene expression". This talk was not recorded.

6 June 2024. Academic talk. Organized by researchers of the Serbian Biochemical Society, SBS. An academic talk by Ivan Spasojević, from the University of Belgrade – Institute for Multidisciplinary Research (Serbia), titled "From 'microalgae in the streets' to 'liquid trees': Our journey from concept to public acceptance". Watch the recording of this talk.

9 May 2024. Academic talk. Organized by the Junior SBD (the junior section of the Slovenian Biochemical Society, SBD). An academic talk by Dr Nina Vesel, from the University of Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty (Slovenia), titled "Genome plasticity in bacteria: from horizontal gene transfer to phage-driven genome rearrangements". Watch the recording of this talk.

11 April 2024. Academic talk. Organized by the Junior HBS (the junior section of the Hungarian Biochemical Society, MBKE). An academic talk by Dr László Dobson, from the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences (Hungary), titled "Insights into pathogen sorting systems with the combination of structural modelling and deep learning". Watch the recording of this talk.

14 March 2024. Academic talk. Organized by SPB Junior Section (the junior section of the Portuguese Biochemical Society, SPB). An academic talk by Dr Henrique Veiga-Fernandes, from the Champalimaud Foundation (Portugal), titled "Neuroimmune Ecosystems". Watch the recording of this talk.

FEBS Junior Section Talk Series in 2023:

1 December 2023. Scientific publishing talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Section in collaboration with FEBS Press. A special scientific publishing talk by Dr Duncan Wright, Managing Editor of FEBS Open Bio, FEBS Press, titled "Ethics of peer review". Watch the recording of this talk.

16 November 2023. Scientific publishing talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Section and FEBS Press. A special scientific publishing talk by Jana Christopher, Image Data Integrity Analyst at FEBS Press; Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH); and Founder of Image-Integrity, titled "Image integrity in biomedical research publication". Watch the recording of this talk.

19 October 2023. Academic talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Section. An academic talk by Dr Adrià Cañellas-Socias, from the Center for Cancer Cell Therapy, Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine (USA), titled "Tumor heterogeneity and plasticity in metastatic relapse". Watch the recording of this talk.

16 August 2023. Scientific publishing talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Section and FEBS Press. A special scientific publishing talk by Prof. Seamus J. Martin, the Editor-in-Chief of The FEBS Journal, from FEBS Press (Cambridge, UK) and Prof. at the Department of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), titled "Choosing a strong research question and producing an excellent paper: What I wish I knew years earlier". Watch the recording of this talk.

20 July 2023. Academic talk. Organized by ČSBMB Junior (the junior section of the Czech Society, ČSBMB). An academic talk by Dr Panagiotis Alexiou, ERA Chair at the University of Malta (Malta), titled "Finding hairpins in a genomic junkyard". Watch the recording of this talk.

15 June 2023. Academic talk. Organized by SIB Sezione Giovani (the junior section of the Italian Society, SIB). An academic talk by Prof. Loris Rizzello, from the University of Milan (Italy), titled "Towards an evolutionary-driven universal therapy against (intracellular) pathogens". This talk was not recorded.

18 May 2023. Networking online event. The FEBS Junior Section have organised an online speed-dating activity for students and young researchers in the molecular life sciences all over Europe to connect online and share experiences, career tips, and much more. Join them at future networking activities by following the FEBS Junior Section on social media and by coming back to this post.

11 May 2023. Careers talk. Organized by ÖGMBT-YLSA (the junior section of the Austrian Society, ÖGMBT). A careers talk by Mag. Christine Hudetz, MA, from LBG Career Center (Austria), titled "Plan your career & Boost your vita". Watch the recording of this talk.

13 April 2023. Academic talk. Organized by HDBMB Junior Section (the junior section of the Croatian Society, HDBMB). An academic talk by Dr Vanda Juranić Lisnić, from the Faculty of Medicine University of Rijeka (Croatia), titled "Viruses, immunity and fertility: Why are we not extinct yet?". Watch the recording of this talk.

9 March 2023. Careers talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Section. A careers talk by the Green Laboratory Work initiative, titled "The science of sustainability: How a sustainable mindset can enhance your research & life". Watch the recording of this talk.

9 February 2023. Careers talk. Organized  by Biochemistry in Motion (BeM)/SEBBM Junior Consuls, (the junior section of the Spanish Society, SEBBM). A careers talk by Dr Rodrigo Hernando Llorente, founder and CEO of "Libertad Con Ciencia" (Spain), titled "How to land your ideal job in the Industry". Watch the recording of this talk.

19 January 2023. Academic talk. Organized by Junior-GBM (the junior section of the German Society, GBM). An academic talk by Dr Jonas Schlüter, from New York University (USA), titled "Evolutionary Medicine for the Microbiome, or how to turn the gut microbiome into a novel therapeutic target". This talk was not recorded.

FEBS Junior Section Talk Series in 2022:

8 December 2022. Careers talk. Organized by ÖGMBT/YLSA (the junior section of the Austrian Society ÖGMBT). A careers talk by Dr Boton Cseh, Brand and Customer Manager in Oncology (Vienna), titled "Graduating from Academia: How to leave Alcatraz and come back only as a tourist. The 5-steps to success" on career mobility and alternative options for researchers. The recording of this talk is not available.

10 November 2022. Academic talk. Organized by SIB Sezione Giovani (the junior section of the Italian Society, SIB). An academic talk by Prof. Federico Fornerisa, from Armenise-Harvard Laboratory of Structural Biology, University of Pavia (Italy), titled "The molecular diversity of collagen lysine post-translational modification enzymes". Watch the recording of this talk.

13 October 2022. Careers talk. Organized by Young NVBMB (the junior section of the Dutch Society, NVBMB). A careers talk by Dr Marco de Boer, from Predica Diagnostics (The Netherlands), titled "Entrepreneurship, the early steps". Watch the recording of this talk.

8 September 2022. Academic talk. Organized by HDBMB Young Scientists' Forum (the junior section of the Croatian Society, HDBMB). An academic talk by Dr Iva Tolic, from the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb (Croatia), titled "The mechanobiology of mitosis and its role in mitotic fidelity". Watch the recording of this talk.

11 August 2022. Careers talk. Organized  by the Junior-GBM (the junior section of the German Society, GBM). A careers talk, by Dr Anna McConnell, from Otto-Diels-Institute, University of Kiel (Germany), titled "My supramolecular chemistry journey" on how she combined her research with supporting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in supramolecular chemistry. This talk was not recorded.

21 July 2022. Academic talk. Organized by the SEBBM Junior Consuls (the junior section of the Spanish Society, SEBBM) and the student association Biochemistry in Movement. An academic talk by Prof. Mara Dierssen, from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona (Spain), titled "The emerging scenario of epigenetic regulation in Down syndrome". The recording of this talk is not available.

9 June 2022. Academic talk. Organized by SIB Sezione Giovani (the junior section of the Italian Society, SIB). A careers talk by Prof. Loredano Pollegioni, from Università degli Studi dell’Insubria (Italy), titled "D-Serine: from unnatural (and negligible) amino acid to (main) neuromodulator involved in relevant human pathologies". This talk was not recorded.

12 May 2022. Academic talk. Organized by ÖGMBT/YLSA (the junior section of the Austrian Society. ÖGMBT). An academic talk by Prof. Florian Rüker, from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna (Austria), titled "Circumventing immunization by in vitro directed evolution and selection of human antibodies from large surface display libraries". The recording of this talk is not available.

14 April 2022. Careers talk. Organized by HDBMB Young Scientists' Forum (the junior section of the Croatian Society, HDBMB). A careers talk by Prof. Igor Stagljar, from the University of Toronto (Canada), titled "My story about life, science and success" on success in the life sciences, with a focus on his work developing high-throughput technologies to facilitate the study of the protein-protein interactions of human membrane proteins involved in cancer. Watch the recording of this talk.

10 March 2022. Academic talk. Organized by Young NVBMB (the junior section of the Dutch Society, NVBMB). An academic talk by Dr Tessa Sinnige, from Utrecht University (The Netherlands), titled "Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of protein aggregation in C. elegans as a living model system". Watch the recording of this talk.

10 February 2022. Careers talk. Organized by the SEBBM Junior Consuls (the junior section of the Spanish Society, SEBBM). A careers talk by Prof. Andreas Hougaard Laustsen, from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), on "Bridging academia and bioentrepreneurship". Watch the recording of this talk.

13 January 2022. Academic talk. Organized by the Junior-GBM (the junior section of the German Society, GBM). An academic talk by Dr Andreas Schlundt, from Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany), titled "The roles of sequence, structure and dynamics for specific RNA-recognition by proteins". Watch the recording of this talk (edited to remove unpublished data).

FEBS Junior Section Talks in 2021:

26 October 2021. Academic talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Section. An academic talk by Prof. Gerard Kleywegt and Dr Sameer Velankar, from EMBL-EBI, on "The AlphaFold Database", co-developed by DeepMind and EMBL-EBI. Watch the recording of this talk.

19 October 2021. Academic talk. Organized by the FEBS Junior Section. An academic talk by Dr Roser Vento-Tormo, Group Leader on Cellular Genetics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute (UK), titled "CellPhoneDB v3: Using spatial information to improve interactions". This talk was not recorded.

Spread the word!

Please share this post with your FEBS Constituent Society to help promote the exchange between young scientists across Europe. Thank you!