Back in June, we reported that UCSF postdocs Sagar Bhattacharya, PhD, and Nick Shin, PhD, had been selected as 2025 UC President's Lindau Nobel Fellows, tapped to attend the annual Lindau Nobel Meeting in Germany over the summer. Since 1951, the Lindau Meeting brings together more than 600 young scientists from around the world who spend one week lakeside in Lindau, Germany, absorbing lectures by Nobel Laureates and interacting with them in small groups to discuss their own research.
We reached out to Nick and Sagar for some reflections and snapshots from their experience earlier this summer.
“The 2025 Lindau Nobel Meeting was truly a transformative and immersive experience, and I was deeply honored to be among its participants. What struck me most was the remarkable accessibility and humility of the Nobel Laureates, who engaged with young scientists with genuine interest and kindness. I had the chance to have personal conversations with Laureates from all sorts of backgrounds, hearing about their ups and downs in science and what gets them excited today.
“Being at Lindau fired up my enthusiasm for science and reminded me why I chose this path in academia. Even with all the current challenges in biomedical research, I left feeling hopeful and more motivated than ever to keep pushing forward.”
– Nick Shin, PhD, UCSF postdoctoral scholar
“This was my first conference outside the U.S., and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. This was an amazing opportunity to network with a large number of non-U.S. based young scientists, which is generally not the case for conferences held in the country. I really learned a lot about academia and industry in Europe ...
“The Lindau meeting is unique since this allows young researchers like us to meet about 35-40 Nobel laureates from various disciplines under a single setup. I am really impressed with their kindness, humility, motivation, and enthusiasm.
“I felt privileged to attend a few Open Exchange seminars, where we had a wonderful interactive experience with the laureates. The immense energy they brought to the meeting was truly remarkable, and I left Lindau with a long-lasting positive vibe. I anticipate that the same applies to the most of my fellow attendees as well ...”
– Sagar Bhattacharya, PhD, UCSF postdoctoral scholar
Information about the 2026 UC President’s Lindau Nobel Fellows opportunity will be shared with postdocs and PhD students in September 2025.