Edith Heard - Basic Research, AI, Planetary Biology and the Future of Science

Edith Heard (EMBL Director General 2019-2025) discusses her legacy at EMBL with Angus Lamond (EMBL Group Leader, 1987-1995). Edith emphasises the crucial role of unexpected results in advancing scientific discovery and innovation, encouraging researchers to embrace surprising findings, as they often spark new insights and breakthroughs. Edith also provides the context to EMBL embracing the research of planetary biology and EMBL's unique position to lead Europe’s exploration in collaborative science and AI.

This conversation was recorded in July 2025.

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Production and Editing: EMBL Alumni Relations

Content and Interviews: Angus Lamond and Thomas Vaccari

Music: Eco Technology by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay

Thanks to: EMBL Audiovisual and EMBL Design

Sponsored by: EMBLEM © European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)