On September 15, 2006, Richard Roberts visited IIMCB, following invitation of Dr. Janusz Bujnicki. Roberts received Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1993 (together with Phillip Sharp) for discovery of splicing in adenovirus. It has been established since that the discontinuous gene structure discovered by Roberts and Sharp is the most common structure found in eukaryotes. In addition to having important implications for various genetic diseases, this structure is believed to drive evolution by allowing information from different parts of the gene to be brought together in new combinations. Currently Roberts’ research interest is focused mainly on nucleic acids-modifying enzymes. As he points out “the main theme of my work in biology has centered on the belief that we must know the structure of the molecules we work with if we are to understand how they function”. Roberts is a Research Director at New England Biolabs. Being the Editor-in-Chief of “Nucleic Acids Research” he is a supporter of “open access” scientific journals. Dr. Richard Roberts is Janusz Bujnicki’s mentor in Young Investigators Program of EMBO.