Starting an independent research group is a pivotal career milestone. To help new group leaders smoothly build and establish their research groups, the GMI offers profound support, including administrative assistance, leadership training and mentoring. Altogether, this support facilitates a smooth transition, helping new group leaders to focus on what matters most to them: excellent science. 

In 2024, two new group leaders joined the GMI. Yan Ma completed her PhD in plant immunity at The Sainsbury Laboratory in the UK. Nick Irwin earned his PhD in evolutionary biology at the University of British Columbia. Yan and Nick brought fresh ideas to the GMI and promise to make important contributions to emerging fields of plant biology. In this interview, Yan Ma and Nick Irwin discuss their experiences as new Group Leaders, as well as their research interests and future goals. 

What are your research groups investigating?  

Yan Ma:  Some insects have the “superpower” to manipulate plants into forming galls, de novo structures made entirely of plant materials that provide the insect with shelter and nutrition. Our group explores how these insects reprogram plant development and how plants, in turn, defend themselves. 

Nick Irwin: My lab is interested in horizontal gene transfer, a mechanism that allows genes to jump from one species to another. We aim to understand where new genes originate, how they are exchanged and what the recipient species use these genes for. 

What new scientific approaches has your group brought to the GMI? 

Yan Ma: We established the first lab model of gall induction in Arabidopsis and are now developing advanced microscopy techniques to track gall development over time at the cellular level. We are also developing methods to examine gene expression patterns simultaneously in the gall-inducing insect and the plant. 

Nick Irwin: We build high-throughput phylogenetics algorithms that can analyze tens of thousands of evolutionary trees at once. Using the data we obtain, we can build hypotheses to test experimentally in various model organisms, giving us unique insights into horizontal gene transfer. 

Why did you decide to join the GMI for this first step as independent group leaders? 

Yan Ma: I knew the GMI as one of Europe’s leading plant biology institutes and was impressed by the vibrant environment, diverse research topics, and outstanding core facilities and support. The institute's emphasis on fundamental science also offered the ideal setting to launch a brand-new research program. 

Nick Irwin: I wanted to explore plants and algae as the ultimate models to experimentally test my hypotheses on evolution, and the GMI provided the perfect setting. Additionally, I was amazed by the extremely collaborative environment and wanted to be part of it. 

How would you describe your transition to the institute? 

Nick Irwin: Everything was ready to go the day we showed up. The lab support and administration helped us get through each difficulty and quickly set up our lab. 

Yan Ma: The transition was very smooth. We were already running experiments within a couple of months, much sooner than I had anticipated. 

How would you describe your first year as a group leader? 

Yan Ma: Both the time and my group’s progress went incredibly fast. The lab support and administration helped us quickly set up our lab, and we managed to establish our new model system in record time. We are now in the exciting phase where there are so many new questions to be explored. 

Nick Irwin: As someone new to plant research, it’s been very exciting to start our first experiments with plant models and try new techniques like CRISPR. In a way, it felt like being back at the beginning of my PhD, with an open world ahead, full of possibilities. 

How have your experiences in this first year helped you develop as Group Leaders? 

Yan Ma: I’ve learned to encourage my students to take ownership of their research projects, advising and helping them to become confident and make their own choices. 

Nick Irwin: Being responsible for things such as management and organization has strengthened my leadership skills and given me a better understanding of what makes a lab run smoothly and ultimately succeed. 

What is your philosophy for helping students succeed? 

Nick Irwin: I try to help each person find what interests them, offering perspective, guidance and support and encouraging students to embrace the learning process, including the inevitable mistakes, and enjoy their work as much as possible. 

Yan Ma: Building open communication is essential to understanding each person’s expectations and struggles. I encourage my lab members to help each other and build a strong support network that helps them stay motivated and enjoy research as a life experience. 

How have other group leaders at the GMI, as well as the available scientific facilities, helped you in this process? 

Yan Ma: Other group leaders provide guidance on scientific and lab-related matters, both through regular meetings and spontaneous conversations. When making tough decisions, seeing that even senior group leaders face similar challenges and getting their insights is incredibly helpful.  

Nick Irwin: The staff at the facilities provides excellent technical support and invaluable insight and expertise, helping design experiments to produce sound, finalized data. They are genuinely interested in going the extra mile to provide us with exactly what we need, allowing us to pursue questions that require very different experimental approaches.   

What are the next steps for your labs? 

Yan Ma: In my lab, we hope to start generating valuable data and identifying intriguing questions to pursue in detail. I’m always happiest when something unexpected appears and I can go down that new rabbit hole. 

Nick Irwin: We look forward to doing our first plant experiments and hopefully finding interesting results. And maybe even capturing a striking fluorescent plant micrograph for next year’s annual report cover!