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

2. 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

3. EIROforum - EMBL is one of eight inter-governmental research organisations3

4. 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

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

6. 6 6

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. 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

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