Portugal will be the headquarters of a European Research Infrastructure

(only available in Portuguese)

For the first time, Portugal will host a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) in Microbiology. The Iberian application was prepared by Prof. Nelson Lima, from the Mycoteca of the University of Minho - Center for Biological Engineering and Prof. Rosa Aznar, from the University of Valencia (Spain), with the institutional support of the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology), the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, and the Secretary of State for Research and Innovation, from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO).

MIRRI (Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure) is a European infrastructure that is in the process of becoming an ERIC, becoming an independent legal entity. Its Coordination Unit will be based at the University of Minho and the IT services will be operated at the University of Valencia.

This new entity aims to facilitate access to a large amount and variety of European microbiological data and resources. MIRRI will promote access to experts in this field and to the MIRRI collaborative platform, with the aim of fostering research and development in the field of biotechnology and finding solutions to societal challenges. In this way, it also seeks to boost interaction between academia and the bioindustry.

The presence of MIRRI-ERIC in Portugal will also help to raise the profile of the work carried out by the scientific community and the business sector in the field of microbiology, as well as all the national partners involved in the new infrastructure.

More information at www.mirri.org