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European Molecular Biology Laboratory

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The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to molecular biology research and is supported by 29 member states, two prospect member states, and one associate member state.[2] EMBL was created in 1974 and is funded by public research money from its member states.[3] Research at EMBL is conducted by more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology.[4]

European Molecular Biology Laboratory
AbbreviationEMBL
Formation1974; 50 years ago (1974)
TypeResearch institute
PurposeBasic research
HeadquartersHeidelberg, Germany
Locations
FieldsMolecular biology
Membership
Full members (29):
Prospect member (2):
Associate member (1):
Director General
Edith Heard[1]
Staff
~1800
Websitewww.embl.org

The Laboratory operates from six sites: the main laboratory in Heidelberg (Germany), and sites in Barcelona (Spain), Grenoble (France), Hamburg (Germany), Hinxton (the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), in England), and Rome (Italy). EMBL groups and laboratories perform basic research in molecular biology and molecular medicine as well as train scientists, students, and visitors. The organization aids in the development of services, new instruments and methods, and technology in its member states. Israel is the only full member state located outside Europe.

History

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EMBL was the idea of Leó Szilárd,[5] James Watson and John Kendrew.[6] Their goal was to create an international research centre, similar to CERN, to rival the strongly American-dominated field of molecular biology.[7] Kendrew served as the first Director general of EMBL until 1982 and was succeeded by Lennart Philipson.[8][9][10] From 1993 to 2005, Fotis Kafatos,[11][12] served as director and was succeeded by Iain Mattaj, EMBL's fourth director, from 2005 to 2018.[13] In January 2019, Edith Heard became the fifth director of EMBL and the first woman to hold this position.[1]

 
In 1968 the European Molecular Biology Conference was founded at CERN, associating 14 governments with EMBO, providing the organisation with stable funding and scientific independence. This led to the formal establishment of The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in 1974.

Heard announced the organisation's five-year scientific programme Molecules to Ecosystems on 19 January 2022.[14]

Research

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EMBL main entrance in Heidelberg

Each EMBL site has a specific research field. The EMBL-EBI is a hub for bioinformatics research and services, developing and maintaining a large number of scientific databases that are free of charge. At Grenoble and Hamburg, research is focused on structural biology.

 
EMBL Rome

The EMBL Rome site is dedicated to the study of epigenetics and neurobiology. Scientists at EMBL Barcelona are exploring how tissues and organs function and develop, in health and disease.[15] At the headquarters in Heidelberg, there are units in cell biology and biophysics, developmental biology, genome biology, and structural and computational biology, as well as service groups complementing the aforementioned research fields.

Many scientific breakthroughs have been made at EMBL. The first systematic genetic analysis of embryonic development in the fruit fly was conducted at EMBL by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus,[16] for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995. In the early 1980s, Jacques Dubochet and his team at EMBL developed cryogenic electron microscopy for biological structures. They were rewarded with the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

 
EMBL Grenoble

Scientific Services

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EMBL has identified as a core mission the provision of advanced experimental and data services to external researchers, including structural biology, imaging and sequencing facilities at its five European sites. In 2021, EMBL completed a new centre for high-resolution light and electron microscopy at its Heidelberg Headquarters – the EMBL Imaging Centre. The centre is open to visiting scientists worldwide and provides a unique service facility for the life sciences by combining the latest imaging technologies with expert advice and industry-led developments not yet otherwise available.[17]

Training

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The EMBL Heidelberg buildings, including the new Advanced Training Centre

Advanced training is one of EMBL's five core missions.[18] Over the years, the Laboratory has established a number of training activities, of which the EMBL International PhD Programme (EIPP) is the flagship – it has a student body of about 200, and since 1997 has had the right to award its own degree, although currently students receive their degrees from partner universities. Other activities include the postdoctoral programme, including the EMBL Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral programme (EIPOD) and the Visitor Programme.[19]

EMBL Advanced Training Centre

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In March 2010, the EMBL Advanced Training Centre (ATC) was inaugurated on the main campus in Heidelberg. Shaped in the form of a double helix,[20] it hosts scientific conferences, seminars and training courses, and provides access to training laboratories and lecture halls.[21]

The ATC also hosts EMBL's European Learning Lab for the Life Sciences (ELLS) which provides training for secondary school teachers on the latest developments in molecular biology, and runs a student outreach program.

Science and society

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EMBL also runs an active Science and Society Programme which offers activities and events on current questions in life science research for the general public and the scientific community.[22]

Membership

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  Member states
  Associate member states
  Prospect member states

EMBL is currently supported by 29 member states, one associate member state, and two prospect member states.

Member states[2] Year of joining
  Austria 1974
  Belgium 1990
  Croatia 2006
  Czech Republic 2014
  Denmark 1974
  Estonia 2023
  Finland 1984
  France 1974
  Germany 1974
  Greece 1984
  Hungary 2017
  Iceland 2005
  Ireland 2003
  Israel 1974
  Italy 1974
  Latvia 2024
  Lithuania 2019
  Luxembourg 2007
  Malta 2016
  Montenegro 2018
  Netherlands 1974
  Norway 1985
  Poland 2019
  Portugal 1998
  Slovakia 2018
  Spain 1986
  Sweden 1974
   Switzerland 1974
  United Kingdom 1974
Prospect member state
  Bulgaria 2024
  Serbia 2023
Associate member state
  Australia 2008
Former associate member state
  Argentina 2014–2020

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ a b Noyes, Dan (28 June 2017). "EMBL Council selects next Director General". EMBL etc.
  2. ^ a b "EMBL member states". European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  3. ^ Signing of the agreement to set up a European molecular biology research laboratory. CERN. 10 May 1973.
  4. ^ "About EMBL". European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  5. ^ Maas, W; Crow, J. F. (2004). "Leo Szilard: A personal remembrance". Genetics. 167 (2): 555–8. doi:10.1534/genetics.104.030320. PMC 1470899. PMID 15238510.
  6. ^ Holmes, K. C. (2001). "Sir John Cowdery Kendrew. 24 March 1917 - 23 August 1997: Elected F.R.S. 1960". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 47: 311–332. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2001.0018. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0028-EC77-7. PMID 15124647.
  7. ^ "EMBL History". 2015. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
  8. ^ Pettersson, U (2011). "Lennart Philipson: A fighter is gone". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (47): 18875. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10818875P. doi:10.1073/pnas.1116859108. PMC 3223467. PMID 22106290.
  9. ^ Simons, K.; Mattaj, I. W. (2011). "Lennart Philipson (1929-2011)". Science. 333 (6043): 711. Bibcode:2011Sci...333..711S. doi:10.1126/science.1210990. PMID 21817041. S2CID 10083044.
  10. ^ Baltimore, D. (2011). "Lennart Philipson (1929–2011): A Warrior Has Passed". PLOS Biology. 9 (9): e1001153. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001153. PMC 3176751.
  11. ^ Gilbert, N. (2010). "The labours of Fotis Kafatos". Nature. 464 (7285): 20. doi:10.1038/464020a. PMID 20203577.
  12. ^ Kafatos, F. (2008). "Straight talk with...Fotis Kafatos". Nature Medicine. 14 (9): 902–903. doi:10.1038/nm0908-902. PMID 18776875. S2CID 21218047.
  13. ^ "MATTAJ, Iain William". Who's Who. Vol. 2015 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  14. ^ "EMBL Programme 2022–26: Molecules to Ecosystems". European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  15. ^ "EMBL Barcelona". European Molecular Biology Laboratory.
  16. ^ Nüsslein-Volhard, C.; Wieschaus, E. (1980). "Mutations affecting segment number and polarity in Drosophila". Nature. 287 (5785): 795–801. Bibcode:1980Natur.287..795N. doi:10.1038/287795a0. PMID 6776413. S2CID 4337658.
  17. ^ "Funding agreed for imaging technology centre at EMBL Heidelberg". 31 August 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Missions | EMBL.org".
  19. ^ Training at EMBL, EMBL website
  20. ^ "University of Heidelberg – Press Releases". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Conferences and Courses". EMBL. 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  22. ^ Science and Society Programme, EMBL website
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