Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society, visited the Institute as part of his first official trip to Argentina. The purpose of the visit was to learn more about the facilities and the work carried out at the Institute and to strengthen scientific collaboration ties.
During his tour, Cramer visited the laboratories, talked with researchers, doctoral and postdoctoral fellows, and gave a talk open to the entire Institute community. He also met with Damián Refojo, director of IBioBA.
“We want to give you confidence: we will accompany you in this challenging time for Argentine science”, Cramer told the staff. “When I walked in here, I noticed the excellence, and that is something we share. The driving force behind the pursuit of scientific excellence is young students”, he added.
Refojo emphasized: “This visit means a lot to us because it strengthens the ties we established more than 25 years ago with the Max Planck Society”. He also took the opportunity to express his gratitude for the visit, the trust, and the constant support that IBioBA receives from the Max Planck Society, and pledged to continue working toward scientific excellence, as it has done since its founding in 2007.
Renewal of bilateral collaboration
As part of the visit, Cramer and Refojo signed a new agreement that broadens institutional cooperation and extends IBioBA’s partnership to three other Max Planck Society institutes, thus consolidating a long-term strategic alliance.
Scientific conference at Exactas UBA
Cramer also gave a lecture on his line of research at the Cero + Infinito building of the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). The event was jointly organized by IBioBA, the Institute of Physiology, Molecular Biology, and Neuroscience (IFIBYNE), and the Department of Physiology, Molecular and Cellular Biology (FBMC).
Among those in attendance were Guillermo Durán, dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences; Matthias Trager, scientific attaché at the German Embassy in Argentina; Adalí Pecci and Anabella Srebrow, director and deputy director of IFIBYNE; as well as prominent researchers such as Alberto Kornblihtt and Alejandro Colman Lerner, among others.
Cramer’s agenda in the country also included meetings with scientific and academic authorities, visits to other research institutes, and the signing of a framework agreement with the UBA.
The president of the Max Planck Society was accompanied by a delegation consisting of Simone Schwanitz (secretary general), Tobias Reinghart (head of the Office for Cooperation with Latin America), and Sebastian Höpfner (Cramer’s personal advisor).