The award is financed within the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. It is a significant achievement for both Dr Wilanowski and the Nencki Institute as Dr Wilanowski was selected as one of only six EMBO Installation Grant recipients across Europe. The research carried out in the Laboratory of Signal Transduction focuses on mammalian transcription factors from the Grainyhead family. It is a family of regulatory proteins with developmental and disease functions. In mice mutations in the Grainyhead proteins have already been linked to spina bifida, impaired wound healing and skin barrier defects, and in humans – to hearing loss. Dr Wilanowski will continue these studies at the Nencki Institute. All of the grantees will become members of a network of the best young independent scientists in Europe – the EMBO Young Investigator Network. The 50 000 EUR a year grant (for a maximum of five years) is intended to enable young, extraordinarily talented scientists to establish their own laboratories and launch their own research programmes. Apart from the financial support, every awardee can enjoy other advantages of participating in the EMBO Young Investigator Programme, such as: EMBO annual and focus meetings, EMBO mentorship, sponsored lectures at international symposia, sponsored courses for PhD students working in the awardee’s laboratory, and the like. We hope that this success of Dr Wilanowski will inspire other motivated young researchers who plan to pursue their scientific careers in Poland.