Inside the European Science Foundation

1574-7891/$ – see fron doi:10.1016/j.molonc.2 Professor Marja Makarow – who took up her post as CEO at the European Science Foundation (ESF) in January – aims to facilitate greater collaboration between the national funding organisations of the different European organisations and the European Commission. For such a mediating role Makarow, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Helsinki, has found herself uniquely placed. In April, she was also appointed as a member of the European Research Area Board (ERAB), a new 22-member organisation (superseding the former European Research Advisory Board) set up to provide independent advice to the European Commission on research and science policy. ‘‘The grand challenges facing European science can’t be solved at the national level. We need to pool resources and enable all our membership to work together for the common good of science,’’ says Makarow. ‘‘Without better collaboration there’s a danger of reinventing the wheel, and spending scarce resources on mediocre science.’’ It comes as a surprise to discover that Makarow did not set out to be a scientist. Until the age of eight she lived in Holland, and after moving with her parents to Finland, was sent to a German boarding school to help maintain her languages ‘‘My dream job was to become a simultaneous translator. But at 18 I discovered that you couldn’t study translation at university in Finland. Around the same time I happened to pick up the family encyclopaediaandthoughttheentryonbiochemistry lookedinteresting.’’ From the outset the systematic approach of biochemistry appealed to Makarow’s logical mind. She went on to study for a Ph.D. in membrane glycoproteins. ‘‘I was lucky to get into a fantastic group. I started to understand that through experimentation you can generate new knowledge. It was really inspiring,’’ she says.