European Molecular Biology Laboratory Laboratoire Européen de Biologie Moléculaire Europäisches Laboratorium für Molekularbiologie Prof. Iain W. Mattaj, Director General

EMBL History EMBL was founded in 1974, as European Intergovernmental Research Organisation following the CERN model. Sir John Kendrew was the first Director General (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1962) Nobel Prize in Medicine 1995 awarded to Christine Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus 2

EIROforum - EMBL is one of eight inter-governmental research organisations 3

EMBL Member States Austria 1974 Denmark 1974 France 1974 Germany 1974 Israel 1974 Italy 1974 Netherlands 1974 Sweden 1974 Switzerland 1974 United Kingdom 1974 Finland 1984 Greece 1984 Norway 1985 Spain 1986 Belgium 1990 Portugal 1998 Ireland 2003 Iceland 2005 Croatia 2006 Luxembourg 2007 Australia 2008 (1st Associate Member) 3 4

EMBL Governance EMBL Council Finance Committee External Auditor Scientific Advisory Committee External Auditor Director General Internal Audit Standing Advisory Committee Directorate 5

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Goals for the EMBL Programme 2012-2016 1) Forefront life science research: setting trends and pushing the limits of technology 2) Providing world-class research infrastructure and services to the member states 3) Training and inspiring the next generation of scientific stars 4) Driving research, innovation and progress through technology development, interactions with industry and technology transfer 5) Taking a leading role in the integration of life science research in Europe European Integration 06/06/11 7

The Five Branches of EMBL Heidelberg Hamburg Hinxton Basic Molecular Biology Research Laboratory Central Administration EMBO Structural Biology DESY European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) Sanger Centre Grenoble Monterotondo >1500 staff >70 nationalities Structural Biology ILL, ESRF, IBS, UVHCI Mousebiology EMMA, CNR 5 8

EMBL research and its impact EMBL ranks as top European institute and fourth worldwide 1999-2009 in molecular biology and genetics (Thomson Essential Science Indicators) 9

What makes EMBL special? EMBL’s organisational structure serves as a model for research institutions EMBL tries to hire the best researchers We‘re not restricted to only hire within member states The fixed term contracts allow constant flux of fresh ideas and fast adaptability to new scientific approaches Only 10 % of the scientists have open-ended contracts A Scientific advisory committee reviews work of the units every four years 10

Biology: From Molecules to Organisms Genome Protein/DNA Cell Embryo Fruitfly Mouse Organism 11