Maria Leptin appointed next president of European Research Council

The European commission has appointed Maria Leptin as the next president of the European Research Council (ERC), following a year-long search. She will begin an initial four-year term at the start of October.

Leptin is an expert in developmental biology and immunology, and is based in Germany. She heads research groups at the University of Cologne and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, and has served as the director of the European Molecular Biology Organisation since 2010.