Dmitry Ghilarov selected for this year’s EMBO Young Investigator Programme

Dmitry Ghilarov, group leader and Associate Professor. Photo by Artem Popovich

Dmitry Ghilarov, group leader and Associate Professor at Oxford’s Department of Biochemistry, is one of a new cohort of 28 EMBO Young Investigators selected in 2025. Places on this prestigious 4-year programme are awarded in recognition of outstanding achievements in the life sciences. Dmitry joins an international network of scientists in the early stages of their independent careers, who share a commitment to excellence and an ambition to drive progress in their different areas of research.

Dmitry says: “I am very grateful to EMBO for this recognition of our research. Being a part of the network of my peers will help me to showcase our work, strengthen existing collaborations, and build new links.”

As part of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme for the next four years, Dmitry and his team are focusing on the research project ‘Controlling molecular machines with post-translationally modified peptides’. Dmitry says: “Overall, it will allow us to take our research into new exciting directions such as engineering designer modifications in peptide antibiotics, developing peptides as bespoke probes to capture transient states of molecular machines, and developing time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy approaches to visualise short-lived enzymatic states of these machines.”

The programme also offers personal career development support such as an opportunity to be mentored by an EMBO member, and resources for Dmitry’s lab members, such as travel grants and access to EMBL central facilities in Heidelberg.

Professor Francis Barr, Head of the Department of Biochemistry at Oxford University, says: “Being selected as an EMBO Young Investigator is a great honour and a wonderful opportunity to connect with other early career researchers across Europe. Dmitry is a great colleague, so I am really pleased he was recognised by EMBO in this way. I am sure that he will contribute a lot to the programme and have a great time doing so.”

EMBO Director Fiona Watt says: “We are pleased to support these young group leaders as they take the next steps in their careers, and we look forward to their discoveries and contributions to our community.”