Four new VVPs were appointed: Wolfgang Baumeister, PhD (Director & Scientific Member, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried and Honorary Professor, Technical University of Munich); Michel Goedert, MD, PhD (Program Leader, Division of Neurobiology, Medical Research Council Lab of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK); Susan Gottesman, PhD (Co-Chief, Laboratory of Molecular Biology; NIH Distinguished Investigator; and Head, Biochemical Genetics Section, National Cancer Institute); and Anthony A Hyman, PhD (Director & Group Leader, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden).