Club Biotech

Club Biotech is probably going to be disbanded by the end of this year, since all active members have graduated from university and nobody has reacted on an email in which we asked for new people to join us. In this way, another era ends.

I am the veteran member of the club, I joined it in 2002, about a year after it was founded. Nobody else who is still an active member of the club has been it for such a long time.

My first Club Biotech event was the first "Stammtisch" ever held. Both founders, Andreas Bergthaler and Andreas Pichlmaier, were there, and I talked to both of them, but I was still very shy in those days. I told them I was interested in research, but I was only at the beginning of my studies and so it would still be a long way to go. Yet I had already learned how to handle the pipette and found out that I was pretty good at it. Andreas Pichlmair smiled and commented that lab technicians are the ones who handle the pipette, while scientists do more intellectual work.

After the Stammtisch, I got a mail from Andreas Bergthaler who said he had been at my homepage and was quite impressed; he added that it is often the silent ones who are the really good ones. In effect, I joined the club and attended a couple of events; I remember one of the first events I was part of was an excursion to Novartis, where I met a medical doctor working there who was impressed that I was so definite about my wish to venture into research although I was only at the beginning of my studies.

It did not take long until Andreas Bergthaler made me webmaster of Club Biotech. I maintained the website until a couple of years later Fritz Erhart joined us. Fritz had developed his own content management system together with his brother and basically took over some of the work that had been part of my duties. I remained maintaining the mailinglists and sending out the newsletters.

I attended Club Biotech events whenever I had time for them. I remember the trip to Brno/Brünn together with some of the other club members in May 2003, where we visited the Gregor Mendel museum. I also delivered a presentation at one of our "Schülerforum" events, where we tried to give high school students additional information on life sciences supplementing their standard curricula. Moreover, thanks to the club I met Susumu Tonegawa, Werner Arber and Carl Djerassi in person and went out to dinner together with them. The rector of the University of Veterinary Sciences back then, Freiherr von Fircks, also used to be one of our regular guests, In addition to that I remember representing Club Biotech at some biotech job fairs.

In October 2011, the beginning of my tenth year as a member of the club, I was finally elected President. After a year I decided to step back from my office and hand it to Lucia Terlecki, since it is unusual that the same person remains President of Club Biotech for more than one year.

Among other things I organized the lectures with Prof. Freissmuth and Prof. Lohner, two Austrian pharmacologists.

Now that everybody is soon going to be finished with uni, and nobody seems to be interested in following, I think it is time to disband the club. I will keep good memories of the club, I had a great time there, and I guess there will be opportunities for the former club members to meet again from time to time.

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