April 14, 2026

Curiosity, cell clearance, and improv: A chat with Julia Batki

In this interview, Julia Batki, FMI’s newest group leader, reflects on the early curiosity that drew her to science, why FMI is the right home for her lab, how studying cell clearance could help us understand disease, and her love of improv.

How did your passion for science emerge?
Like many scientists, I was a very curious child. I was drawn to things that had some internal logic, where there were rules you could figure out and then apply. In school, my first fascination was physics, in particular astronomy. Over time, that interest shifted towards chemistry. That remained a central theme through high school and later into university: I really wanted to understand how things work at the molecular level. I trained as a chemist for both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Through internships and thesis projects, I gradually moved to structural biology and then genome stability.

What drew you to the FMI, and how does the institute support the vision for your new lab?
I already knew the FMI and had followed the science here. What attracted me most is its diversity: it’s an institute organized around scientific themes but not confined to one narrow topic, with many opportunities for synergy. The culture was equally important: people are genuinely committed to a good work environment, and I can really feel this now as I’m setting up the lab. People have come to us and asked how things are going — that support makes a big difference. In terms of infrastructure, the FMI is ideal for our mix of in vivo and in vitro approaches. The new Applied Tissue Models Center shared with Novartis is another key strength, offering both technical support and opportunities for collaboration.

What are the central questions you’re hoping to answer in your lab?
We are interested in how tissues form, especially in the context of the developing embryo. When an embryo grows, it’s not just about cells dividing and differentiating. A lot of cells also need to be removed. I like to think about cell elimination as a process with two sides. First, cells need to die. Second, their remnants need to be cleared. The focus of the lab is to understand how tissues ensure that this elimination happens efficiently, how this process is organized across different organs and cell types, and what happens when it goes wrong.

Could insights from your research have implications for understanding disease?
Yes, absolutely. Cell death and clearance is not unique to the formation of organs. It also happens during homeostasis in adult tissues. When cell remnants are not properly cleared and linger for too long, this can lead to pathological states — for example, chronic inflammation or autoimmune disease. So, the principles we uncover in the embryo are very likely to be relevant beyond development. By studying in a controlled way how different cell types activate clearance pathways and maintain tissue integrity, we hope to identify mechanisms that could be restored in disease settings.

Who has inspired you most in your scientific career?
It is not a single person, but a certain kind of person. I feel very fortunate to have been mentored by people who are both passionate about their science and deeply committed to supporting others. These are people who help you grow not only professionally but also personally. That combination has had a big impact on how I think about running my own lab.

If you could have a coffee with anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
I would actually have tea, and I would choose Katalin Karikó. [Karikó pioneered the development of mRNA technology that became the foundation for COVID-19 vaccines.] I find her extremely inspiring, both as a scientist and as a person, always driven by her mission. I would love to ask her how early this mission emerged, and how she realized that the technology she was working on could become transformative.

What’s one surprising thing about you that isn’t obvious from your CV?
I really like improv. In Hungary, there is a wonderful improv theater group whose shows I started attending just for fun. Eventually, I joined some of their workshops. Improv changed how I think about communication: it showed me how we can interact in ways that are more constructive. That’s because improv is built around ideas such as “yes, and”: you accept what the other person offers and build on it, rather than shutting it down. In science, we often default to “yes, but”, because critical thinking is so central to what we do. That’s important, but it can also become counterproductive. So, I’ve challenged myself and colleagues to try “yes, and” lab meetings. I believe some of the core principles of improv can be very powerful in scientific discussions.