Dario Alessi, winner of this year's EMBO Gold Medal, attributes his success to both his working environment and his non-traditional career choice. The medal, which is awarded by the European Molecular Biology Organization, recognizes outstanding research by young molecular biologists working in Europe.

Alessi works on cell signalling at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee, Scotland. At the age of 37, he has already published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers — a fact that helped secure his award earlier this month. He says that his research unit in Dundee is an ideal place for young scientists to excel.

As he is funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Alessi has no teaching duties and writes very few grant applications. His unit hosts 80 research groups and 150 scientists in an 'open plan' research environment. “In all the labs, all the researchers interact with each other,” Alessi says. “All the equipment is communal. If someone discovers something, it is transmitted very quickly throughout the building.”

Alessi was attracted to Dundee after doing PhD work in London and Birmingham. And, contrary to conventional wisdom, he decided to stay on as a principal investigator after he completed his postdoc there. “Everyone told me not to do that, because everyone will associate you with your mentor,” Alessi says. But staying on allowed him to maintain his momentum and he soon established his own reputation.

Alessi's success illustrates two scientific career points. First, working environment can be more important than university or laboratory pedigree — Alessi knows that Dundee isn't held in the same esteem as Cambridge or Harvard, but he doesn't much care. And sometimes you have to ignore professional dogma. Perhaps other young scientists should follow Alessi's trail — and maybe they too will achieve similar success before they turn 40.