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The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) was established
in 1974 and is supported by seventeen countries including nearly
all of Western Europe and Israel. EMBL consists of five
facilities: the main Laboratory in Heidelberg (Germany),
Outstations in Hamburg (Germany), Grenoble (France) and Hinxton
(U. K.), and an external Research Programme in Monterotondo
(Italy).
EMBL was founded with a four-fold mission: to conduct basic
research in molecular biology, to provide essential services to
scientists in its Member States, to provide high-level training
to its staff, students, and visitors, and to develop new
instrumentation for biological research. Over its 25-year
history, the Laboratory has had a deep impact on European
science in all of these areas. EMBL has achieved so much because
it is a truly international, European institution, because it
has achieved a critical mass of services and facilities which
are driven by cutting-edge biological research, and because it
regards education ? at all levels ? as a way of life.
The Laboratory has a number of unique features. Its Outstations
provide European biologists access to large instruments for the
study of protein structures, some of the world's oldest and
biggest databases of DNA and protein sequences, and a host of
services operated by highly-trained biologists who are
simultaneously involved in their own research. The Outstations
are optimally located on campuses which foster links to a much
larger network of European science ? neighbors including the
Sanger Centre and the Welcome Trust, DESY, the ESRF and the ILL,
EMMA, and a host of academic and industrial partners.
EMBL is designed as a way-station, not only for the large
numbers of visitors and students, but also for its own
staff. Nearly all of EMBL's scientific and administrative
personnel will one day leave the institution, usually to a
destination in a Member State, and when they do, they carry
along a unique combination of experience and skills. The
scientific networks created by EMBL alumni have contributed
heavily to the development of a truly international scientific
community throughout Europe.
Website: "http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/"
[Summary provided by EMBL]
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