For Gaia, LINXS represents an ideal environment for developing her research on large-scale scientific research infrastructures as complex environments for knowledge production.

What will you work on during your stay in Lund, Sweden?

During my stay in Lund, I will continue developing my PhD research, which focuses on large-scale scientific research infrastructures as complex environments for knowledge production. In particular, I will work on case studies such as LINXS, MAX IV, and ESS, observing their internal dynamics firsthand.

My work will be twofold: on one side, I will produce materials for science communication and public engagement; on the other, I will conduct interviews and engage in discussions with researchers, technicians, and administrative staff. This will allow me to collect qualitative data directly in the field and better understand how knowledge is produced, organized, and communicated within these environments.

What are your research interests?

My research interests lie at the intersection of architecture, sociology, and phenomenology, with a particular focus on the cognitive processes involved in scientific understanding. I am interested in how space—through its configuration, aesthetics, and internal organization—can influence the comprehension of complex theoretical concepts.

In this sense, I see architecture not merely as a container, but as an active agent that shapes and mediates the production of knowledge.

You come from a social science background, what attracted you to the large-scale facilities?

What attracted me to large-scale infrastructures is their systemic impact. They are not just buildings or research centers, but devices capable of reshaping urban environments and influencing contemporary society.

Over the past decades, many countries have heavily invested in these infrastructures as drivers of development, yet their social and territorial impacts remain only partially explored.

I see them as knowledge ecosystems, where architecture, organisational structures, and scientific practices are deeply intertwined. My goal is to observe and interpret these interactions, also in relation to the broader urban and social contexts in which they are embedded.

Why do you want to spend time at LINXS?

LINXS represents an ideal environment for my research because of its inherently interdisciplinary and international nature. Its proximity to infrastructures such as ESS and MAX IV creates a unique ecosystem in which science develops through dialogue across disciplines.

Moreover, the vision of the Science Village in Lund - focused on promoting science, education, and societal engagement - strongly aligns with my research project. I am particularly interested in exploring how these infrastructures function not only as sites of advanced research, but also as cultural and communicative spaces.

What do you hope you will get out of the visit overall?

First and foremost, I aim to gain practical experience through direct observation and participation in the daily activities of international research infrastructures. This will allow me to develop skills in analysing research spaces and their organizational structures.
At the same time, I hope to strengthen my interdisciplinary and international competencies through engagement with a diverse scientific community.

Another key objective is to deepen my experience in science communication and public engagement by contributing to the organization of seminars, workshops, and public events, including initiatives aimed at schools and educational institutions.

How can LINXS support you in your work?

LINXS can provide essential support by allowing me to actively engage in its scientific and outreach activities. The opportunity to collaborate in organising seminars, workshops, and public events offers a concrete setting to experiment with innovative approaches to science communication.

In addition, involvement in interdisciplinary projects and applied research activities will enable me to closely observe scientific practices and collaborative dynamics, significantly enriching my research trajectory.

“This year, we will focus on outreach to the virology community,” says theme leader Wolfgang Knecht, who is also a senior lecturer at Lund University, SciLife group leader, and Director of the Lund Node of Protein Production Sweden.

Knowledge of large-scale infrastructures such as MAX IV and ESS is still limited within the virology community, explains Wolfgang Knecht. Bridging this gap will therefore be an important focus for the theme, he emphasises.

“Closer relationships between virologists, instruments scientists and other researchers can help accelerate the development of preparedness for pandemics,” says Wolfgang Knecht. “Through collaboration, virologists can start to identify what X-ray and neutron experiments should be performed early in a pandemic, for example.”

Getting to know each other within the theme

During the kick-off, the Institute of Virology at the Philipps University of Marburg in Germany, the Lund University Virus Centre (LUVC), and the Swedish Society for Virology presented their work and focus areas. The Marburg Institute, for example, is a world-leading research institution on the Bunya, Filo- and Arenaviridae viruses.

The aim with the presentations was to increase knowledge about the different organisations involved in the theme, and to kickstart discussions on how to disseminate information about the theme and the capabilities at MAX IV and ESS.

As part of a pre-kickoff, the core group members from Marburg and the LUVC participated in a guided tour of MAX IV and ESS.

“They were completely amazed! It is hard to imagine the scale of the facility and its instruments from only pictures or drawings,” says Wolfgang Knecht.

Symposium: Knowing and Fighting the virus, 3-4 November at LINXS

These types of physical visits play an important part in creating links between virologists and the infrastructures according to Wolfgang Knecht. Longer and more active visits to MAX IV and ESS will therefore be a prioritised agenda point at the symposium the theme is organising on 3-4 November at LINXS, on the theme of knowing and fighting the virus.

“We have to present what we have here in Lund to get people excited,” says Wolfgang Knecht. “Establishing new relationships and work practices take time. A good start is to create opportunities for virologists to learn more about the facilities first-hand and see them with their own eyes”

During the symposium, each of the three working groups: WG1: Understanding the virus; WG2: Fighting the virus; and WG3: Complementary and enabling techniques, will organise specific sessions.

After the symposium, the theme will organise further activities. They include inviting large-scale facilities to present what is feasible in terms of setting up experiments and sample environments for viruses at different levels of biosafety.

“Once we have increased awareness of what is currently possible, we can start thinking of what we need to develop to get these types of experiments going!”

Welcoming new members!

Wolfgang Knecht emphasises that the theme is open for anyone, from anywhere in the world, with an interest in virus research and pandemic preparedness and how to incorporate the use of synchrotrons or neutron sources.

“This active matchmaking is rather new, and we are eager to create a lively network! For that, we welcome interested researchers who are willing to invest time in this endeavour,” says Wolfgang Knecht.

Read more about the PandA theme

Read more about the PandA Symposium – Knowing and Fighting the Virus, 3-4 November

LINXS has now been at The Loop for just over a year. The move to our new premises in March 2025 has had a strong impact on LINXS’ mission as an advanced studies institute, developing science frameworks that maximise the opportunities of large-scale research facilities such as MAX IV and ESS and other major centres worldwide.

Since moving to Science Village, LINXS’s premises have been fully booked for everything from large meetings and conferences for our different themes to data analysis workshops, young researchers’ activities, and guest lectures. Throughout the year, LINXS has also hosted numerous guest researchers and provided a superb environment for informal interactions between scientists from different disciplines. 

Director Trevor Forsyth reflects on the past 12-month period as one where LINXS has had increasing impact for the development of large-scale facility science and national and international collaboration. LINXS has further had strong local impact with increasing involvement of university faculties and departments where he notes that there is obvious synergy with facility capabilities and needs - and obvious opportunities afforded by the proximity of Science Village. 

"LINXS is charting a course that will not only facilitate scientific and industrial opportunities in the region and nationally; it is also developing strong international connectivity and empowering educational opportunity for students and next generation researchers. Whether for energy, health, technology or culture, there has never been a more important time to nurture collaboration and complementarity," says Trevor Forsyth, LINXS Director.

Watch a video of LINXS One Year at the Loop!

In February, the theme had a kick-off to design and plan its work.

“The event was such an inspirational source! We needed to meet to discuss what these techniques are capable of and what they can give us in terms of scientific data, says theme leader Karin Lindkvist, Professor at the Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University.

Overview of what is currently possible

To highlight where the field currently lies for the analysis of clinical samples, four keynote speakers had been invited to give presentations on methods for studying samples connected to airway disease, neurodegenerative disease, metabolic disease and transmittable disease.

Many of the presentations focused on the use of electron microscopy and scattering techniques. These methods have been used to study topics such as actin remodelling in cells, virus replication, and where inhaled substances end up in the lungs. In Sweden, experiments using electron tomography and electron microscopy can be performed in Umeå, at the Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy (UCEM).

“It was exciting to hear what is already feasible. Now we can build on this research and start thinking about how to explore everything from methodologies and experiment environments to data analysis,” says Karin Lindkvist.

“One concrete goal is to strike up a collaboration with researchers from the Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy, who also attended the kick-off.”

Protein analysis at high resolution presents many challenges

Karin Lindkvist explains that data analysis in particular is a prioritised area for the theme. In contrast to more traditional research on proteins, where researchers purify the protein they are interested in investigating in a controlled environment, the data retrieved from experiments with clinical samples is very complex. This is because the proteins are embedded within the cell or even tissue, making it much more difficult to study protein behaviour and structure. Apart from proteins, cells typically contain water, lipids, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and various inorganic ions.

“The analysis of proteins in cells is not trivial! With these techniques you basically see everything, so you need to know what you are looking for. Larger proteins are easier, like ribosomes, but smaller proteins present a big challenge that we hope to explore.”

The new challenges that this field of study presents are also what Karin Lindkvist finds exciting, and part of why she wanted to pursue the theme.

“As a professor in medical structural biology, I see the study of clinical samples at high resolution as the natural next step in developing a better understanding of health and disease. Only studying proteins on their own cannot give us the full picture of how certain diseases develop or how cell changes upon disease.”

More data on proteins in clinical samples can make prediction models better

She is confident that within ten years, it will be possible to study a range of different clinical samples at large-scale facilities such as MAX IV and ESS and in research environments as the one in Umeå. With more data from these experiments, programmes such as AlphaFold, which predict protein structure and behaviour will also become better.

“If we can provide data on how proteins function in their natural environment, we can support the development of more accurate prediction models. In time, it can make a big difference for our knowledge of how for example diabetes, neurodegenerative disease or lung disease.”

Read more about the kickoff

Read more about the SHINE theme (Scattering and Imaging for Health Insights and New Evidence)

He was inspired by the Kavli institute for Theoretical Physics in California, where researchers are invited for prolonged research visits. He was also aware of how MAX IV, and later ESS, would need an institute like LINXS to widen the existing user group and drive discussion on technique development, data analysis and experimentation forward.

“To see how LINXS has developed from the slow start when I was participating, to what it is today is great. The new premises are exactly what was needed to make LINXS what it is supposed to be: a place where people love to come and discuss science,” says Peter Schurtenberger, professor emeritus at the Division of Physical Chemistry at Lund University.

As Peter Schurtenberger reflects on his professional career, founding LINXS is one of the things he is proud of. Yet, when asking him to identify other key achievements, he rather emphasises the collaborations that made these breakthroughs possible; and how the results were obtained in non-competitive environments that created the right conditions for free and curious science.

Curiosity led to major breakthrough on equilibrium clusters

As an example, he highlights his and his colleagues’ seminal work on equilibrium clusters in the early 2000s. Through small angle scattering and confocal microscopy experiments on proteins and colloid-polymer systems in solutions, they identified how a combination of short-range attraction and long-range repulsion results in the formation of small equilibrium clusters. These clusters act as temporary units that restrict the mobility of individual particles and explain why proteins, such as antibodies, in solution can sometimes become highly viscous at higher concentrations. This viscosity makes the antibody formulation hard to inject, presenting a difficult to solve challenge for the pharmaceutical industry, as many monoclonal antibody treatments for cancer and other diseases rely on high dosage to be effective. Their paper in Nature, published in 2004, which presented this work has now been cited more than a 1000 times.

“These results were highly influential not just for my own career but also for a whole community in redefining research with significant implications for pharmaceutical research.”

“We now understand why these clusters form, and this knowledge gives the pharmaceutical industry tools to reduce the viscosity.”

The breakthrough was the result of both chance and opportunities to pursue curiosity, Peter Schurtenberger explains. He and his research group had the possibility to perform experiments with one, at the time, brand new small-angle X-ray scattering instrument, without any external pressures to produce results. That allowed them to do many iterations of experiments and testing, trying to understand an unexpected observation without knowing whether this would lead to anything worth publishing.

“For me, this work shows the importance of being able to pursue unhindered research over a long time to arrive at results that require deep theoretical thinking.”

Advancing knowledge on the dynamics of dense suspensions of complex particles and proteins

Other examples of his outstanding work include his research on the dynamics of dense suspensions of complex particles and proteins throughout the 2010s. This work followed the identification of equilibrium clusters and led to additional numerous high-impact publications. Understanding why and how different properties of dense suspensions of complex particles and proteins form is important. It can help control material properties – for example, managing viscosity in cement, paint, or drug treatments – and improve product formulation so that paints, inks and lotions do not set prematurely.

“Within my work I have always been open to move into different directions and take what I learnt in one area and apply it to another. This has served me well and is advice I would give to researchers active today.”

“Through talking to people from different scientific fields or in industry, I have come across many problems that we later managed to solve through collaborations. These meetings only come about if you have a genuine broad interest in solving scientific problems.”

Collaborators have become friends

Another reflection as he looks back on his career is that, in the end, what was most rewarding was not the scientific results, it was the networks and collaborations he formed.

“I have never been the type to impose close relationships on collaborators, but you realise that by doing collaborations and supervising PhD students and postdocs, you end up creating a family of friends.”

Seeing the many colleagues celebrate the official end to his career at the 45 Years of Soft Matter and Scattering symposium at LINXS in June 2025 brought this home. Following his younger colleagues’ career journeys is something he is now looking forward to.

“I forged my career in a different scientific climate, where I had a lot of freedom to pursue my research interests. My hope is that my younger colleagues will get the chance to do the same. Yet the reality today is harsher, and funding scarcity and bureaucracy create pressures to do more safe science where you can predict results.”

Peter Schurtenberger’s mentoring has made lasting impact on the many PhD students and postdocs he has supervised.

Feifei Peng: “I continue to carry Peter’s teachings with me”

Feifei Peng was one of Peter’s PhD students, defending his thesis on microfluidics and soft matter in 2019. Today he works as an imaging engineer at the medical endoscope company Ambu A/S in Denmark.

“His mentorship left a lasting impact on me. Peter carried a natural authority grounded in calm confidence, and he approached science with exceptional rigor, precision, and insight. Even though microfluidics was also a relatively new area for him, he often offered perspectives that opened new directions in my research. Peter taught me that technical skills alone are not enough – that thoughtful project management and disciplined scientific practice are equally essential,” says Feifei Peng.

“Although my current work is quite different from my earlier academic research, I continue to carry Peter’s teachings with me. His emphasis on rigor, careful attention to detail, and intellectual curiosity still shapes the way I approach my work today.” 

Marc Obiols: “That I have a position that I enjoy a lot is in big part thanks to Peter”

Marc Obiols, Industrial Relations Officer at MAX IV, first started working with Peter Schurtenberger in 2008, in Switzerland. Between 2010 and 2013 he was a postdoc in his group before becoming a researcher at the Division of Physical Chemistry at Lund University. In 2016, he left academia for industry. Throughout, they have remained in contact.

He highlights how he approached Peter when he was thinking about what to do in the future, who asked him: “What would be your dream scenario? Think of it without considering whether it is possible or not. Then I will try my best to make it possible”.

“This was about 10 years ago, but this conversation was a game changer for me,” says Marc Obiols.

“The fact that I have a position that I enjoy a lot is in big part thanks to Peter. He allowed me to develop professionally within the scattering world, being able to perform experiments in X-ray and neutron sources throughout my post-doc and research time in his group.”

“Today I work to empower industry to make use of an advanced large-scale facility such as MAX IV, and thus, I deal with “X-rays” daily with a business mindset. The scientific background gained throughout my seven years under Peter’s mentoring has been key to what I do for a living today.”

Antara Pal: “Peter has allowed me to strengthen my independence and resilience as a researcher”

Antara Pal was a postdoctoral researcher under Peter Schurtenberger from 2015 to 2021. She is now working at Malmö University, as a lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Science.

“During my postdoctoral period, we worked together on several research projects that resulted in multiple high-impact publications and helped shape my long-term research trajectory. Peter has allowed me to strengthen my independence and resilience as a researcher. These experiences contributed to the development of my scientific profile and ultimately supported my transition to a permanent academic position.”

Linda Månsson: “In Peter, we always had a supporting and encouraging mentor”

Linda Månsson was a PhD student in Peter Schurtenberger’ group. In 2019, she defended her thesis which focused on synthesising colloidal molecules from soft responsive microgel particles. Today she works at Camurus as a Medical Information Manager.

“I want to highlight the importance Peter played in the life of his students. In you we always had a supporting and encouraging mentor, one that always cared for our interests and supported our learning and development. Over the years you have filled our “backpack” with so many useful skills. Moreover, your passion and curiosity for soft matter and for science in general was (and still is) contagious and tremendously inspiring to me!”

“We wanted to connect theorists and experimentalists working on quantum materials to discuss ways in which the interesting new physical effects predicted by theories can be detected, especially with neutron and X-ray techniques,” says Erik van Loon.

Creating platforms where scientists can explore how to experimentally validate theoretical concepts is important to advance the field, explains Erik van Loon. Many predictions, relating for example to wavefunctions and their entanglement, or to quantum geometry, are formulated in terms of abstract models and concepts.

“These concepts are not always what is directly accessible in a real X-ray or neutron experiment, even though there are successful cases of making these connections”, says Erik van Loon.

During the workshop, they highlighted these cases as an inspiration and departure for further discussion. One example is the angular-resolved photo-emission experiments for topological electronic structures. Another is the recent experiments on altermagnetic materials that have been performed at MAX IV.

“We also discussed possible approaches for areas that are more difficult. One such area is so-called odd-frequency superconductivity, where a big challenge is that there is not yet a way to do an experiment that gives direct "smoking gun" evidence that a material is an odd-frequency superconductor.”

Goal: to create connections beyond the theme to advance the field

To ensure active participation, Erik van Loon and the organising group included a number of "lightning talks" where each workshop participant had five minutes to introduce their research. The participants in the lightning talks ranged from undergraduates who were just starting their thesis project to someone weeks away from retirement.

“Our aim was to create connections beyond this event, and even beyond the theme itself. By actively engaging participants to share their work, we can make it easier for people to strike up conversation with each other.

Erik van Loon reflects that it was great to see the constructive discussion between the two sets of scientists – the theorists and the experimentalists.

“The event confirmed our sense that the new X-ray and neutron capabilities in Sweden offer exciting possibilities for probing quantum effects in solids. It was particularly nice to meet theory researchers who had not previously had the opportunity to engage with these particular experimental techniques.”

Opportunities for collaboration

Atefe Nayamadi Mahmoodabadi was one of the partcipants at the workshop. She is a postdoctoral researcher at Uppsala University, exploring how to use dynamical mean-field theory and machine learning to understand magnetic materials. She came to Lund for the event, having just arrived in Sweden two months ago to start her postdoc.

"It was my PI who encouraged me to register," Atefe explains. "I had just come to Sweden and didn't know about MAX IV and ESS, so that was interesting in itself."

After reviewing the programme beforehand, she doubted the topics would relate to her research, but the workshop proved to be highly beneficial.

"Coming here, I found some connections between the talks and my own work! It is nice to realise how easily collaborations can be formed with people outside my own field. You may have quite a lot in common even if you're not working on exactly the same topics."

The workshop has already led to concrete opportunities. Atefe Nayamadi Mahmoodabadi now sees how she could use the MAX IV and ESS facilities in her research, and she has even started discussions about a possible collaboration with one of the speakers, who is an experimentalist, whereas she is a theorist.

"You do not always meet naturally, so this event was really great from that perspective. It will be  really cool if an experimentalist can test some of my results."

Read more about the workshop: Experimental signatures of quantum correlations and topology in neutron and x-ray techniques – QMat theme

Read more about the QMat theme (Quantum Materials)

What attracted you to the AMBER position?

When I read the AMBER call and the PI’s aspirations, I immediately felt that it was tailored for me. The topic and PI’s expertise were in complete alignment with my scientific interest, the study of protein–protein interactions. Additionally, the AMBER program offers the perfect interdisciplinary platform and a network connecting many of the most important scattering infrastructures around the globe. What better way to return to experiments than by working with advanced techniques such as SAXS or SANS, while still integrating simulations? Finally, the recruitment process was challenging and fun, and I truly enjoy fun challenges!

What is your background?

Since my early steps in science, I have always been interested in biological, biotechnological, and biomolecular systems. For instance, during my Master’s, I focused on the study of phytohormone production by fermentation, which led to the publication of a patent.

For my PhD, I wanted to continue along the biological line, but I left experiments aside to develop a deeper understanding of physical chemistry from a computational perspective. All the projects during my PhD consisted of simulating coarse-grained systems affected by pH, usually referred to as charge-regulated systems, such as polyelectrolytes or colloidal nanoparticles representing proteins.

Although my main duties were mostly computational, I also focused intensively on the use of potentiometric titrations. Toward the end of my PhD, my experimentalist side blossomed again, and I had the opportunity to explore other techniques such as NMR and fluorescence spectroscopy.

What will you research within your postdoc project?

My current interest is to further expand my knowledge of protein–protein interactions beyond those related to pH changes (charge regulation). Thus, I will focus on interactions that are primarily affected by temperature. Among these, hydrophobic interactions are of great importance, as they are closely related to how water arranges around the protein, influencing both their solubility and structural conformation.

Specifically, I will study them using a combination of mean force calculations, molecular simulations, and experiments. Specifically, I will focus on integrating theories of temperature-dependent hydrophobic interactions, originally developed for intrinsically disordered proteins, into the context of globular proteins.

What is your motivation and drive in your personal and private life?

I have always been driven by curiosity, the pursuit of knowledge, meaningful life experiences and the desire to contribute positively to society. Thus, my main motivations include the opportunity to live in Sweden, learn new, interesting, and challenging techniques, be part of a rich international environment, and contribute to society through my research.

About AMBER

The EU-funded research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, addresses scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ and organism levels of organisation.

AMBER’s partner organisations are: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France, the International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines, (IMOL), Poland, and the Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, United Kingdom.  

AMBER is coordinated by LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.

Read more about AMBER on:

www.ambercofund.eu

Mina Hajizadeh works as an AMBER postdoc in the Biology, Deuteration, Chemistry, and Soft Matter group at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in France.

What attracted you to the AMBER position?

What really drew me to the AMBER postdoctoral position was the feeling that it is a place where different disciplines meet and interact. I am motivated by impactful scientific questions, and the AMBER project asks many of these questions in my field of research. I was excited by the opportunity to work with advanced experimental techniques like Small-Angle Scattering, MRI and NMR, while collaborating with researchers from different backgrounds and perspectives expanding from clinical work to modeling and simulation. At the same time, I appreciated the program’s support for independence, it felt like a place where I could develop my own ideas, stay curious, and grow confidently as an early-career scientist.

What is your background?

I have a multidisciplinary background in cellular and molecular biology, biophysics, and physics, with a strong focus on understanding the structure and dynamics of biomolecules in solution.

After studying cellular and molecular biology at the Bachelor’s level, I pursued a Master’s in Biophysics, where I investigated intrinsically disordered proteins using various biophysical techniques. This experience sparked my interest in how structural flexibility shapes biological function and how advanced techniques at large-scale neutron and X-ray facilities allow us to probe these systems in solution.

I then moved to Europe for a PhD in Physics, focusing on photoactive proteins and complex biomolecular systems. Using Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) alongside complementary neutron and X-ray techniques, I explored how conformational changes in solution connect to biological activity. My work combines experimental design, advanced data analysis, and modeling to better understand biomolecules in native-like environments, where structure, dynamics, and flexibility together determine function.

What will you research in your postdoc project?

In my postdoc within AMBER, I am developing a joint SAXS/SANS contrast-variation strategy to better resolve the internal organisation of complex biomolecular assemblies in solution. Many biologically important systems (particularly membrane proteins) are composed of multiple components such as proteins, lipids, and nanodiscs. This complexity makes their structural characterization particularly challenging.

My project combines the complementary strengths of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and SANS. SAXS provides high-throughput structural information based on electron density, while SANS allows powerful contrast variation through H₂O/D₂O exchange and selective deuteration. By carefully designing coordinated contrast conditions across both techniques, we aim to selectively highlight or mask specific components within multicomponent assemblies.

What is your motivation and drive in your personal and private life?

At a personal level, I am motivated by curiosity and the satisfaction of solving complex problems step by step. I enjoy learning new things, whether in science or outside of it, and I value persistence and long-term growth over quick results. Outside the lab, I like activities that help me disconnect and recharge, such as reading, music, sports, and spending time outdoors. Maintaining this balance helps me stay motivated, focused, and creative in my research.

About AMBER

The EU-funded research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, addresses scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ and organism levels of organisation.

AMBER’s partner organisations are: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France, the International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines, (IMOL), Poland, and the Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, United Kingdom.  

AMBER is coordinated by LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.

Read more about AMBER on:

www.ambercofund.eu

What attracted you to the AMBER position?

I was attracted to AMBER because it offers the perfect environment and facilities to conduct high-level research. Beyond the equipment, what really stood out to me was the community. It gives me the chance to share ideas with wonderful scientists, which I think is the best way to broaden your mind and keep learning as a researcher  

What is your background?

I have a PhD with a major in immunity. My previous research focused on how organisms survive under pathogenic conditions using a genetic model. I worked on identifying the molecular mechanisms and patterns that allow a system to endure when it is under threat. I am now merging that experience with my work at IMol to understand how these same principles of survival and adaptation apply at the mitochondrial level.  

What will you research in your postdoc project?

My research focuses on the "TIM23 complex", which is the main machinery for protein import into the mitochondria. I am specifically interested in how the cell maintains mitochondrial biogenesis under stress. I am studying the signaling pathways and factors like TIMM17A and TIMM17B to see how the import process is regulated or adjusted when the cell is struggling. I want to find out how the mitochondria protect their function during these periods of instability.  

What is your motivation and drive in your personal and private life?

I am a very curious person by nature. I get my drive from solving problems and finding out how things work. In both my work and my personal life, I enjoy the process of learning something new every day. I believe that staying curious and open to new ideas is what helps you grow, both as a scientist and as a person.  

About AMBER

The EU-funded research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, addresses scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ and organism levels of organisation.

AMBER’s partner organisations are: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France, the International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines, (IMOL), Poland, and the Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, United Kingdom.  

AMBER is coordinated by LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.

Read more about AMBER on:

www.ambercofund.eu

“My ambition is for ESS to secure a prominent place for neutrons within the scientific landscape.”

The coming years will be busy for Science Director Giovanna Fragneto. As she and the rest of the team at the European Spallation Source (ESS) prepare to open for users at the beginning of 2028, her focus is on defining the first user experiments at ESS and creating a long-term science delivery plan. This involves making sure support services for users are in place, sample environments are validated, and that the required software is ready.

“It is exciting to be finally transitioning from a project phase to steady state operations. Especially as ESS will offer several unique neutron capabilities,“ says Giovanna Fragneto, Science Director at ESS.

To define the first science experiments, ESS is currently engaging with neutron users in their 13 European member states. Together, they will develop and test capabilities and optimise sample environments. Initially, ESS will operate at a lower power, with fewer neutrons, sufficient to ensure that everything works as intended. After that, more challenging samples, that make use of faster and higher-intensity neutron measurements, will be tested.

Fifteen scientific instruments are currently being installed at ESS, each with different capabilities. These include diffraction instruments, spectroscopy instruments, instruments for engineering and industrial samples, and instruments designed to study large-scale structures.

ESS will enable faster measurements and capabilities to explore more challenging samples

Giovanna Fragneto hopes that ESS will enable more researchers to become neutron users, since up to now neutrons have struggled to become established in the research community. In contrast to X-ray techniques, neutron techniques cannot be used in university labs, nor are they commonly taught to students, which could be contributing factors.

“One of the big strengths with neutrons is that we will be able to study the behaviour of materials with non-destructive techniques. At ESS, we will be able to explore more challenging samples and perform faster measurements than ever before.”

For science, the potential is almost endless, as the limits of certain scientific questions can be pushed with new possibilities to study material structures. This opens up scientific opportunities in fields as diverse as quantum materials, heritage science, and life science.

“I am personally excited about how our instruments can further expand the recent explosion of in operando studies of batteries and hydrogen systems, as well as advance imaging and tomography measurements for a wide range of samples.”

Collaboration between neutron facilities can improve neutron experiments and grow the user community

To support the uptake of neutron techniques, Giovanna Fragneto emphasises the need for neutron facilities to collaborate around issues such as beamtime availability, software and sample environments. Worldwide, there are currently 25 - 30 active neutron facilities, offering complementary capabilities and sample environments.

“Users will not apply again after two or three failed attempts to get beamtime. It is very important that we have a good number of facilities operating in the world and that we have complementarity across instruments and environments.”

She adds:

“Everyone benefits from progress made elsewhere, and we need to exchange know-how to improve neutron experiments.”

One area where collaboration is especially important is around establishing laboratories which can deuterate samples, which is essential to perform many neutron scattering experiments. Deuteration is a labelling technique that replaces hydrogen atoms in molecules with a heavier isotope of hydrogen called deuterium and allows to enhance or remove the signal of specific parts of a molecule or more complex system.

“It is impossible for one single facility to develop a deuteration strategy for the wide variety of samples you find in a neutron facility, so here we can collaborate to support users.”

What does Giovanna Fragneto enjoy about working at ESS?

“It is exciting to build up the facilities and shape how the organisation will operate: to define the first science. At the moment, we are hiring many scientists to help us develop ESS. They will be at the forefront of running experiments and helping users.”

To her role she brings more than 25 years of experience of working with neutron-based research in different leadership roles at the neutron facility Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in France. As ESS is an international facility, policies for member countries’ beamtime access and applications will be required.

“I help to set a clear focus for how to operate an international facility. In contrast to most other neutron facilities, ESS has an important remit to serve all its thirteen member countries equally. This international focus needs to be part of the mindset of all staff.”

How should researchers interested in being part of the first experiments at ESS prepare?

“The most important thing is to follow the instrument development at ESS, engage in discussions with our scientific staff and and contribute to the activities that shape our collective scientific future,” says Giovanna Fragneto.

ESS has already organised many first science workshops with researchers from its member states. These are excellent opportunities to get involved early and to influence instrument development, Giovanna Fragneto emphasises.

“We encourage anyone interested in ESS to join! Building up a relationship with the user community is one of our main priorities in making ESS successful.”

2026 has started with several very dynamic kickoff events. The SMILE theme on Soft Matter in Life began in early January, and the SHINE theme on Scattering and Imaging for Health Insights and New Evidence started in late February — both with extremely well-attended kickoff meetings. This will be followed by the kickoff events for the Semiconductors theme (this week) and for the Pandemics and Alertness (PandA) theme in early March. LINXS now has a total of ten themes, offering a considerable amount of potential for interdisciplinary interaction between them as well as a lot of scope for engagement with the Young Researchers' Initiatives (YRI).

The ongoing themes have also been extremely busy. An interactive workshop organised by RheoMAXESS, in collaboration with AIDA, discussed the use of rheometry techniques across bio/med-tech, food, and materials. The QMat theme has also just held an excellent workshop on experimental signatures of quantum correlations and topology in neutron and X-ray techniques.

The AMBER postdoctoral cohort is steadily growing – 27 ambitious researchers have been recruited so far. These researchers are being encouraged to engage with the LINXS YRI initiatives and in addition are having periodic meetings themselves at LINXS with external participants connecting online. They bring a great deal of enthusiasm and breadth of experience to LINXS and to the academic environment, linking a wide diversity of biological and biomedical imaging science. The fifth AMBER recruitment call is still open for another few days – so please promote these opportunities widely!

The latest LINXS National and International Theme Call has just closed – for which we received the highest number of applications ever. This emphasises the value of the thematic model in promoting and catalysing new scientific actions and in bringing together diverse capability and infrastructures. The selection process is carried out by an external Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) – to whom we are very grateful for the tireless and impartial review work they undertake. The theme proposals pass through a two stage review.

We share a number interviews and articles about recent theme and YRI activities organised at LINXS on our website. It is great to see how the Young Researchers’ Initiatives are growing – in December, a group of researchers organised a workshop on tomography, followed by an event focusing on soft matter research. Both activities were successful in bringing together early-career researchers and supporting their learning and career development.

We warmly welcome our new Administrative and Event Assistant, Mia Lindström, whom some of you have already met. She started in early January and will support Josefin Martell, LINXS Science Activities Manager. We also extend a belated welcome to Professor Lars Tranvik from Uppsala University, who visited LINXS in the autumn as a guest researcher with the Environment and Climate theme and is planning to return in spring.

Finally, we want to invite you all to our small mingle at LINXS on 17 March to celebrate our first anniversary at The Loop!

In this newsletter, we share reflections from LINXS Director, our upcoming events, and news from our thematic activities. We also highlight interviews and initiatives from some of our various theme leaders and members.

Read the newsletter to find out more about our activities, and to stay updated on more opportunities to engage, learn and connect with others.

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The X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) PhD school trains new or early users to design, plan, prepare, perform and analyse an X-ray absorption spectroscopy experiment at a synchrotron beamline. The most recent school was held at LINXS in early autumn.

 “With this concept, we can create independent users who can make their own beamtime afterwards. To reach this level of independence, it is important to focus on just one technique and learn it properly,” says Jens Uhlig, senior lecturer at Chemical Physics at Lund University.

XAS is used to analyze the electronic structure of atoms and molecules by measuring the energy absorption of X-rays as they interact with a sample, providing insights into its chemical composition and local bonding.

XAS school started as a motivation to support early career researchers

Jens Uhlig was motivated to design the first XAS-school eight years ago as he wanted to support early career researchers to start using large scale research facilities. Since then, he has run the school four times, and three times at LINXS. The school is divided into three parts; the first one focuses on theory; the second on designing and performing an experiment at the Balder beamline at MAX IV, and the third part on data analysis.

“To properly learn, you need to try things out for yourself, for example grind the sample, and push the buttons at the beamline. But before you can do this, you need to reflect on what you want to measure. With the XAS technique you can answer very specific things: for example, analyse the local environment and structure around specific atoms, and the oxidation state of catalytic materials,” says Jens Uhlig.

While the basic components of the course have not changed since he first ran it, he always includes a special session focusing on recent changes in the field. This time, he highlighted how one can study catalysis in real time: this supports a deeper understanding of the interplay between catalysts, reactants and conditions for example, as it can capture transient state and structural changes that are invisible in static studies.

The importance of a practical approach cannot be underestimated

Jens Uhlig emphasises the importance of maintaining a strong practical focus for the school. He has noticed how this forces the students to become more independent and analytical. He is proud that many of his former students are now independent users at MAX IV. He further highlights the need to teach data analysis, not just in his course, but in general to increase the scientific output from facilities such as MAX IV.

“We want to teach the students what is good data. How can they extract the data they need, and how can they present their results? This is by no means easy,” says Jens Uhlig.

Connected to the larger issue of data analysis are also discussions of the limitations of data and of experiments. This is a component he has added to the course.

“As these students are starting out in their career, I want to support them to also talk about uncertainties: what are the limits of their approach? If more people do this, we can create an open discussion, which can open a whole field for further learning.”

Right science for large-scale facilities

These types of discussions are also important for ensuring that the right science is performed at large-scale research facilities. In the case of XAS, this can for example mean experiments which aim to increase knowledge on situ charging or discharging of batteries to increase their effectiveness, the molecular structures of catalytic materials, and why and how catalyst poisoning occurs, whereby a catalyst’s active sites become deactivated by impurities that stops their ability to promote chemical reactions.

“By discussing ways to use XAS for different experiments, we can not only support the creation of more users but also increase knowledge of what type of experiments should be done at MAX IV, and what experiments are better suited for other lab environments.”

He has already made plans for the next XAS-school, which will probably run in late 2026/early 2027.

About the XAS-school

The focus of the XAS-school is on XAS experiments, where the students learn EXAFS analysis of molecular and solid samples, XANES analysis of molecular, solid and nano particulate samples, and linear combination analysis in XANES/EXAFS of diverse mixed samples and crystalline materials.

The school also gives a short general introduction to specify which other techniques are available. This enables the students to formulate questions that can be can be answered with XAS but also to choose alternative techniques for the questions that can be better answered with other techniques.

Read more about the recent XAS school

“With new capabilities, the complexity also increases, all the way from experimental design to data analysis. It has become more difficult for new users to thoroughly understand the challenges involved in the process,” says Endri Lacaj, postdoctoral researcher at the Division of Solid Mechanics at Lund University.

Endri Lacaj and Florian Schott, fellow postdoctoral researcher from the Division of Solid Mechanics at Lund University, recently organised an introductory workshop on X-ray computed tomography, XCT, for early career researchers. In attendance were PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and master students, plus industry researchers – with research interests ranging from structural characterisation of materials, from gels to wood, to in-situ conditioning of samples.

“Despite the variety of different applications that benefit from XCT, some of the main difficulties remain similar among all disciplines and we can, therefore, all learn from one another,“ says Endri Lacaj.

“This was also our main motivation for the general workshop on tomography; with a goal to help young and future scientists understand the capabilities of the technique and how their research could benefit best from it,” says Florian Schott.

They invited tomography experts and experienced users to the workshop who provided useful info and feedback related to X-ray physics and applications, experimental planning and volumetric image analysis.

Important to discuss what techniques are feasible for different sample materials

One of the experts was Stephen Hall, professor at the Division of Solid Mechanics at Lund University. He has more than 20 years’ experience of different 3D-imaging techniques. He says that it is good to meet with the researchers early in their research process to be able to discuss what techniques are feasible for their ideas and sample materials.

“XCT has a lot of potential, but it can be a challenge to understand how to optimise the sample, the experiment, the imaging and the analysis in combination to retrieve the right information, e.g., how wood swells in water or the arrangement of small-scale structures in seashells. As an example, often the envisaged samples are too large to be able to get the high resolution they are after to solve their research question.”

“If that is the case, we can discuss other ways they might be able to see the features or processes they want to identify”.

Discussing ideas and together teasing out how to solve them is the best way to learn, he emphasises. Creating places where experts and researchers can meet means that many initial hurdles and challenges can be overcome.

Stephen Hall notes how many of the participants were eager to learn more about how to use XCT to image in 4D, to understand how things change over time, for example different chemical processes, or how strain and stress can affect materials.

“This is really exciting as by running experiments in-situ at an imaging beamline we can retrieve data not just for material structures, but how these structures change in time as we apply for example mechanical load or treat them with water.”

“With the new beamline at MAX IV, we will be able to further develop XCT for in-situ imaging with less restrictions on, for example, sample size whilst still achieving the desired spatial and temporal resolutions.”

Inspiring to talk to researchers from different places

Malin Pålsson was one of the master students who attended the workshop. She works on foraminifera, microorganisms that live on the sea floor. She attended the workshop to learn more about how to use XCT to study the structure of foraminifera shells. Depending on salinity, sea temperature and nutrient availability, the foraminifera build their shells differently.

“Foraminifera can be used as indicators of environmental change, as their shells store important knowledge of the conditions in the sea at different times. With the help of XCT, I can build 3D models to be able to better predict and understand how the environment was at a particular time.”

She was surprised at how many researchers had travelled from elsewhere than Lund to attend.

“It was very inspiring to talk to people from other academic institutions, who have different experiences than me. I learnt a lot during the day.”

Ambition to grow the soft matter community with more targeted events

Endri Lacaj and Florian Schott are very happy with the outcomes of the workshop.

“We believe that the workshop could be fruitful to both researchers and technical specialists involved in complementary activities. While new scientists get to discuss with experts and peers, their current ideas mature, and newer ones are born,” says Endri Lacaj.

“We see that people involved in technical developments (sample environments, algorithms, etc.), can benefit through better understanding of what researchers need, the direction that XCT is heading and how their current tools could be shaped in the future.”

Their long-term goal is that the user community will expand, and that its needs will converge towards more specific topics for which dedicated workshops or hackathons, or even larger scale events can be organised.

Read more about the tomography workshop at LINXS

What attracted you to the position at LINXS?
”I was attracted to the position because it combines event management, administration, and service in an inspiring environment. LINXS’s commitment to fostering international and interdisciplinary scientific exchange really resonated with me. I was also drawn to the emphasis on structure, collaboration, and creating a welcoming experience for visiting researchers.”

What is your background?
”I recently graduated as an event coordinator and have primarily worked with cultural events, focusing on planning, logistics, guest coordination, and on-site operations. In addition, I have completed a course in social media marketing to further develop my digital communication skills.”

What aspects of event management do you think are important to develop at LINXS?
“LINXS already has a strong foundation in event management, but I believe there is always value in continuing to develop clear and efficient workflows, especially for recurring events. Further strengthening the integration between physical and digital events, as well as continuously refining participant communication, could also enhance the overall experience for both organisers and attendees.”

What is your first impression of LINXS?
“My first impression of LINXS is very positive. It feels like an open, welcoming, and highly professional environment with a strong sense of collaboration. There is a clear commitment to quality and to supporting researchers.”

What do you bring to the role?
”I bring a structured and reliable way of working, combined with a strong service-oriented mindset. I enjoy coordinating multiple elements simultaneously and being a supportive point of contact for visitors. I also bring curiosity, along with a willingness to learn and continuously improve how events and administrative processes are carried out.”

Lars Tranvik is a professor of limnology at Uppsala University, and a new guest researcher with the Environment and Climate theme. In late autumn, he spent two weeks at LINXS and is now planning to return in the spring.

Why did you want to come to LINXS?
”I have ongoing collaborations with researchers in Lund, so this felt like a good fit. Being near to both the large-scale research facilities and Lund University is great. This is also a lovely space to work in.”

What project are you working on with colleagues in Lund?
”We are very interested in the fate of organic matter in lakes and oceans that originates from dead microorganisms, plants, algae, and animals.”

“We want to investigate why some of this matter turns into methane and carbon dioxide and is released into the atmosphere, while other parts of it persist for a very long time. Thus, we are aiming to study the structure of organic matter with the help of different techniques such as Small Angle X-ray Scattering, Atomic Force Microscopy and Cryogenic Electron Microscopy. The dissolved organic matter in the water is, to some extent, aggregated into tiny particles and colloids. We are particularly interested in how this might protect the organic matter from degradation and result in a long-term carbon sink in the sediment.”

“This research is important for our understanding of how much carbon is emitted from inland waters and their roles as carbon sinks. Today, inland waters actually emit almost as much carbon dioxide as the oceans take up – so maintaining this aspect of the carbon cycle is important. The carbon cycle is Earth’s natural recycling system for carbon, continuously moving it between the atmosphere (mainly as carbon dioxide), oceans, lakes, land (plants and soil), and the Earth's interior. The distribution of carbon between land, water, and atmosphere is changing due to human activities, and understanding these shifts is essential to assess the impacts on the biosphere and their feedbacks.”

What are your first impression of LINXS?
”I like the intellectual environment at LINXS. It is nice that the institute is close to many of the instruments and facilities we are using in our project.”

What is the value of someone from Uppsala University visiting LINXS as a guest researcher?
”I had very little knowledge of these types of techniques before I started this project. If we can successfully highlight what is available here in Lund, and that LINXS welcomes researchers for work and experiments, then I think many more people will be interested in coming here!”

What will you do when you return to LINXS?
”Once I return, we will focus on completing the experiments and analyzing the data. I am hopeful that they will reveal some interesting results that we can explore further!”

Read more about Lars Tranvik at uu.se

The third Young Researchers’ Initiative on Soft Matter was held at LINXS in early December and gathered around 40 researchers from different scientific fields.

The organising group had strived to bring together early-career researchers in a relaxed and welcoming environment, where they could hear about cutting-edge research and feel comfortable engaging in discussion.

“By removing some of the pressure that can come from more senior-led meetings, particularly during question sessions, we created a space where participants felt at ease to ask questions and interact openly,” says Anna Stephens, postdoctoral researcher at Physical Chemistry at Lund University.

Broad applications of X-ray and neutron reflectometry within soft matter research

In their programme, they aimed to reflect the broad range of applications of X-ray and neutron reflectometry within soft matter research. Thus, they invited speakers who use a wide range of approaches: experimental, theoretical, and computational to higlight how different methods can be complementary when probing complex soft-matter systems.

Introducing such broad approaches is important as a major challenge within soft matter research is the intrinsic complexity of soft-matter systems, emphasises Anna Stephens. They often involve multiple length scales, dynamic rearrangements, and components that interact in subtle ways. Interpreting scattering data from such systems can require sophisticated modelling and careful experimental design.

“We included examples on how soft matter techniques can contribute crucial pieces to a wider scientific story. To us, the talks successfully demonstrated the versatility and impact of these methods across different systems.”

Anna Stephens and her co-organisers: Oliver Hammond, instrument scientist at ESS, and Simona Bianco, postdoctoral researcher at MAX IV,  were surprised and delighted at the level of engagement from the audience. There were so many questions after each talk that often the five minutes allocated were not enough to accommodate them all.

“The consistently lively question sessions following each talk indicate that the research presented resonated strongly with the audience and sparked broad interest across the programme,” says Anna Stephens.

Building a sustained and supportive community is a key priority

Going forward, Anna, Simona and Oliver would like to maintain the momentum by encouraging new attendees to return to future events, while also continuing to engage those who have participated in previous meetings. Building a sustained and supportive community of early-career researchers is a key priority.

Anna Stephens highlights how she is particularly interested in organising a special event on “Young Researchers: Women in Soft Matter” event later in 2026 – featuring talks from leading female scientists in the field.

“Support from LINXS in helping to organise, host, or promote such an event would be greatly appreciated,“ says Anna Stephens.

Why did they decide to join the Young Researchers’ Initiative on Soft Matter?

“I am part of this initiative to foster a sense of community within the soft-matter field, especially among early-career researchers working across different institutions and career stages. Soft matter research can sometimes feel fragmented, so creating spaces where people can connect, share ideas, and support one another feels both valuable and necessary,” says Anna Stephens.

She studies a promising anti-cancer peptide that also shows strong antibacterial activity. Her focus is on understanding how it interacts with model bacterial membranes, and she is currently collecting preliminary data to support a proposal for the SUPERADAM instrument at the ILL. At ILL, she aims to use magnetic reference layers and isotopic contrast variation to learn exactly where the peptide is distributed within the membrane model. 

Simona Bianco currently work at the CoSAXS beamline in collaboration with the RIANA European project. As part of her position, she assists users coming to the CoSAXS beamline and help in the development of the beamline together with the team.

“I have an interest in the design of stimuli-responsive functional soft materials and I will work on continuing the development of sample environments to study them, with a particular focus on rheology. With RIANA, I assist inexperienced users looking to perform techniques related to SAXS/WAXS for nanoscience and nanotechnology research across Europe.”

She joined the organising group as she would like to contribute to LINXS’ mission of promoting science and education based on the use of X-ray and neutron techniques.

“I believe that these techniques should be made more approachable and understandable to prospective scientists and this can only be achieved through collaborations, talks and workshops!”

Read more about the Soft Matter YRI

AMBER has opened its fifth call for postdoctoral fellowship positions, with a deadline of 2nd of March 2026. AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, addresses scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ and organism levels of organisation.

Around 10 postdocs will be recruited in this call and each postdoc is funded for 36 months. Scientists holding (or about to receive soon) a PhD in the areas of physics, chemistry, medical sciences, biological sciences, or other relevant areas are welcome to apply.

AMBER is coordinated by LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.

The postdocs will be recruited under the following topic areas

• Biological and biomedical imaging

• Lipids, lipid-based therapeutics and partially ordered systems

• Protein structure in health and pathology

AMBER has the following partner organisations: Lund University/MAX IV, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS), Sweden, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), France, the International Institute of Molecular Mechanisms and Machines, (IMOL), Poland, and the Leicester Institute of Structural and Chemical Biology, United Kingdom.  

As a postdoc your work may include clinical and biomedical projects. It may also include technique development work aimed at combining imaging techniques and data analysis to provide a more integrated picture of life processes in the context of health and disease.

The call closes on 2nd of March 2026.

AMBER is a EU research programme funded by the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) COFUND scheme.

“While self-assembly has been studied for many decades in non-biological soft matter, we still have much more to learn about how living organisms exploit self-assembly to organise biomolecules into functional structures,” says theme leader Hanna Wacklin-Knecht, Associate Professor in Physical Chemistry, Lund University and Head of Scientific Support at ESS.

Bridge knowledge gaps by transferring methodologies from the soft matter to the life science community

Hanna Wacklin-Knecht was motivated to start the theme to bridge this knowledge gap; with a specific focus on transferring some of the methodologies developed in the soft matter community to the life science community to promote new approaches to investigating biological systems from the molecular and nanoscale up to the micrometre length scale of cells.

“Self-assembly in complex biological systems, composed of a large number of different constituents that organise themselves at multiple length scales, cannot be adequately understood through only studying simple model systems. Methodologies urgently need to be developed to probe real biological systems,“ says Hanna Wacklin-Knecht.

“Our strategic goal is to push the frontiers in fundamental and applied life science by developing a concerted and international effort anchored at LINXS for using neutrons and X-rays for explaining biological function and developing new biotechnological applications. To achieve this aim, SMILE collaborates with international networks and centres such as the newly funded Danish lighthouse project Caiff, the SwedNess national PhD school, the CLIMB MSCA Doctoral Network, and SoftComp.”

Focus on identifying commonalities among self-assembly

Hanna Wacklin-Knecht explains that in order to optimize the potential for new high impact research, SMILE takes the approach of inspecting the relationship between structure and dynamics evolution across length and timescales, with focus on identifying commonalities among self-assembly mechanisms, rather than focusing on specific systems or compounds.

The theme organisation draws inspiration from the Challenge-based approach of the COMMONS Center of Excellence at Lund University, to explore three overarching questions: nanoscale vs macroscopic phase separation, coupling molecular to cellular level behaviour, and connecting molecular dynamics with the kinetic evolution of structures.

Push neutron and X-ray techniques for life science forward

Developing and advancing neutron and X-ray techniques for life science together with large scale research facilities is at the heart of the theme, with a strong focus on the development of both experimental and data-analysis methodologies for complex biological systems.

“Being able to bring together an international network of researchers from both academia and research infrastructures is an exciting opportunity,“ says Hanna Wacklin-Knecht.

She hopes that the theme’s work will result in a tool box that will enable and encourage the life science community to use more neutron and X-ray techniques than today to study complex biological phenomena. That she is placed at ESS is a great strength for developing the research and methodologies together, as well as for making the tools accessible for the broader user community.

“The theme is a great opportunity to advance questions connected to biological self-assembly hand-in-hand with developing new methodologies to probe them.”

She adds:

“This work will require detailed examination of both practical and theoretical issues, for example, how we apply currently available methods to more complex systems, or how we can best combine information from techniques that study vastly different length scales – such as imaging and scattering experiments.”

What can more knowledge on self-asssembly mean for life science and other societally important sectors?

“From a biological perspective we want to understand better fundamental cellular function, but this can also help us design better medicines or plant based foods for example. The most important thing about fundamental research and method development is that you never know what they will enable in the long run!”

With Christmas just around the corner, it is inevitable to end up reflecting on what has been a very rewarding and intense year. The move onto Science Village (SV) has been the most obvious change and has brought about a huge flux of activity throughout the institute, starting with a remarkable inaugural event in the week of midsummer.

However, under the surface there have also been other major initiatives for the development of LINXS as an advanced studies institute. Crucial funding from the Crafoord Foundation was awarded in association with the move to SV and is now having a very visible impact with the appearance of new widescreens throughout the office, and most recently, of high-end workstations that will be mobilised for use in data analysis clinics.

The workshop rooms are also being upgraded with state-of-the-art audiovisual systems designed to facilitate activities. In addition, the major increase of core funding from the Science, Engineering and Medical faculties at Lund University as well as from the university centrally has had a very direct effect in that our new themes are funded with higher levels of coordination resourcing, a support that will also go to our currently active themes.

This resourcing will have direct and indirect impacts on LINXS activities – direct in terms of the science being initiated, and indirect in that the coordination component will support the smooth running of the themes. As of 2026 we will have 10 active science themes, all operating with greatly increased human resourcing. The young researchers’ initiatives (YRI), which have steadily grown over the year, will also benefit from the new and wider range of science.

We are glad to introduce three of our four new themes through interviews with the respective theme leaders. In the articles on our website you can read about the genesis of each theme, its aspirations and goals. Should you be interested in joining any of the themes or its working groups, you are welcome to make contact either with the theme core group, working group leaders or with LINXS staff.

We also want to highlight the current national and international theme call, which closes at the end of January 2026. This is a great opportunity to pursue a new science initiative that exploits large facility research capabilities (including but not restricted to MAX IV and ESS) and complementing techniques, and to contribute to growing user communities. Remember that LINXS themes are not restricted to Swedish applicants – applicants can come from anywhere (see the call text for eligibility) and there are also special possibilities for theme applications that connect facility centres worldwide.

The fifth AMBER postdoctoral call will open in early January 2026 – we are looking to recruit talented, eager and passionate researchers to our programme. If you are curious about what the AMBER programme might hold for postdocs, read our interview with postdoc Cindy Yunxin Xiao who is based at the Department of Experimental Medicine Science (EMV) in the Lund University Medical Faculty. Relocating from Australia to Sweden to take up the position, she highlights the opportunity to contribute to — and learn from — a dynamic and interdisciplinary research environment.

On our website, you can read highlights from our theme events. We also share an interview with one of our new guest researchers, Professor Anders Tunlid. Anders is staying at LINXS as part of the Environment and Climate theme. He is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Biology at Lund University and acted as Chair for the LINXS Board between 2021– 2023. We extend a very warm welcome to him.

All best wishes to everyone for Christmas and the new year: the LINXS community, its Board, Scientific Advisory Board, Management, Staff, Lund University, the Crafoord Foundation, and partners. It has been an amazing year! We hope you all have a restful break over the Christmas holidays and see you in 2026!