EMBO - European Molecular Biology Organization and EMBC - European Molecular Biology Conference

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a membership organization of more than 1800 top researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences not only in Europe, but worldwide.

The European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) was created in 1969, following the model of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), as a permanent intergovernmental organization.

Funding opportunities and participation in EMBO and EMBC

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) provide in the area of life sciences:

• Courses, workshops and lectures
• Publications (EMBO Press)
• Studentships training, teaching and research

European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)

The main objectives of the organization are:

• Supporting talented researchers at all stages of their career;
• Stimulate the exchange of scientific information;
• Help build a research environment where scientists can do their best work.

EMBO helps young scientists advance their research, promote their international reputation and ensure their mobility. EMBO Press courses, workshops and lectures and publications disseminate the latest research work and provide training in techniques for maintaining high standards of excellence in research practice. EMBO helps shape science policy by seeking input from the community and closely following trends in science.

EMBO supports talented researchers, selected through impartial evaluation processes, to enable them to do top science. The broad scientific scope across the full range of life sciences research, together with the broad geographic reach of over 1800 members and associate members - some of the best researchers in Europe and around the world - ideally positions EMBO to serve the life sciences community.

History of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC)

The European Molecular Biology Organization was founded in 1964 by a pioneering group of molecular biologists, among them Nobel Prize winners Max Perutz, John Kendrew, François Jacob and Sydney Brenner. The organization was created in order to achieve two distinct but related goals:

1. The launching of a program to finance and promote training and Studentships in this area;
2. The establishment of a central laboratory for molecular biology.

Funding and support for the first of these goals was found from European countries and led to the establishment of the European Molecular Biology Conference in 1969.

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), in turn, was created in 1974 as a "Special Project" of the EMBC with the support of a subset of the EMBC member countries.

Today, the EMBL is an independent entity that operates autonomously as an intergovernmental organization. EMBO and EMBL and its member countries work closely together to create synergies for the advancement of this scientific field in Europe.

European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC)

Fourteen governments initially joined the EMBC, providing the organization with stable funding and scientific independence.

The EMBC today comprises 30 member countries, most of which are in the European Union, but also including some neighboring countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and United Kingdom.

The EMBC through its General Programme presents a framework for European cooperation in the field of molecular biology and related research areas.

The General Program focuses primarily on granting Studentships for training, teaching and research and establishing programs for courses and workshops in the life sciences.

Financial contributions from each member country support the General Program whose execution is entrusted to EMBO. Both EMBC and EMBO are driven by a common commitment to quality research at the European level. Their joint activities are characterized by quality and encouraging cooperation within the scientific community.