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Celebrating 60 years of EMBO

EMBO was founded on 12 July 1964 to advance molecular biology in Europe. Today, EMBO is an organization of more than 2,000 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. EMBO has supported thousands of talented researchers at different stages of their careers, stimulated the exchange of scientific information, advanced scientific publishing and helped build a research environment in which scientists can achieve their best work. 

Browse through a timeline and a collection of posters telling the story of the development of EMBO, its achievements and impact over 60 years. 

1962
Leo Szilard © Corbis. All Rights Reserved
The meeting at CERN

Leo Szilard proposes that Europe’s molecular biologists should attempt to persuade governments to establish an international laboratory for molecular or fundamental biology during the visit to CERN in Geneva, Switzerland

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1963
16 September
The Ravello meeting

Molecular biologists discuss the possibility of international cooperation at the Ravello meeting in Italy

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1964
12 July
EMBO is registered as a non-profit organization

EMBO acquires official legal status in Geneva, Switzerland, under Swiss Civil Code on July 12 and appoints its first members

1965
Raymond Appleyard appointed first Executive Secretary of EMBO
Read his biography
1966
Support secured from the Volkswagen Foundation

Volkswagen Foundation provides a grant of
DM 2,748,000 to fund the EMBO Fellowship Programme

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First EMBO Fellowships awarded: 21 short- and nine long-term
1970
The European Molecular Biology Conference established
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More countries join EMBC

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Israel, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom

1972
Greece and Italy ratify the EMBC agreement
1973
John Tooze appointed Executive Secretary of EMBO

Listen to John Tooze, from the EMBL Oral History project:

Read his biography
1974
Ireland joins the EMBC
4 July
John Kendrew with 'forest of rods' model, used as a basis for building the atomic structure of myoglobin, 1958.
Foundation of EMBL and appointment of its first Director General, Sir John Kendrew

Sydney Brenner on the foundation of EMBO:

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1976
31 March
EMBO publishes statement on recombinant DNA technology

Listen to John Tooze:

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1977
Finland joins the EMBC
1978
Iceland joins the EMBC
1982
3 May
The first EMBO Journal cover
The EMBO Journal launched

The EMBO Journal is started in 1982 to disseminate research in the life sciences around the world

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1986
5 May
Moulds for the original EMBO Gold Medal awarded in 1986
EMBO Gold Medal launched

The EMBO Gold Medal acknowledges young scientists for outstanding contributions to the life sciences in Europe.

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1992
Hungary joins the EMBC
1993
Turkey joins the EMBC
1994
Czech Republic and Portugal join the EMBC
3 October
Frank Gannon appointed Executive Director of EMBO

Frank Gannon on Young Investigators:

Read his biography
1996
Cover of the programme of the first EMBO Members' meeting
EMBO lectures and EMBO Members' Meeting established
1997
Slovenia joins the EMBC
1998
Croatia joins the EMBC
1999
Poland joins the EMBC
2000
EMBO Reports launched

A new journal is founded to publish both long- and short-format papers that communicate major findings in all areas of molecular-, cell- and developmental-biology.

Visit EMBO Reports website
4 July
Young Investigator Programme is started

Recognizing that the future of research in Europe depends on the quality of its young researchers, EMBO launches the Young Investigator Programme as the only of its kind.

Further information
2001
EMBO moves into new building

EMBO moves to its present building on the EMBL campus.

2004
Cutting the birthday cake: Frank Gannon, Marja Makarow, Susan Gasser, Fotis Kafatos (from left to right)
EMBO celebrates its 40th anniversary
2005
14 April
First issue of Molecular Systems Biology

EMBO launches one of the first Open Access journals.

Molecular Systems Biology
1 June
EMBO Laboratory Management Courses

EMBO starts Laboratory Management Courses to help scientists learn how to run their labs more effectively.

2006
Estonia joins the EMBC
1 December
Installation Grants launched

EMBO starts Installation Grants designed to strengthen science in emerging countries in Europe.

2007
Luxembourg and Slovak Republic join the EMBC
23 October
Hermann Bujard appointed new EMBO Director
Read his biography
2008
30 January
Naama Barkai named as the inaugural winner of the FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award

Naama Barkai of the Weizman Institute of Science received the award for her outstanding contributions to the field of systems biology and the mathematical modelling of biological systems.

Read the press release
9 October
EMBO Molecular Medicine launched

EMBO launches new journal at the interface of molecular biology and clinical research

EMBO Molecular Medicine
2009
1 May
EMBO Press introduces Transparent Peer Review
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29 August
The EMBO Meeting is launched

The first EMBO Meeting is held in Amsterdam. More than 1,300 scientists attend the event. In 2014, a joint anniversary meeting with FEBS will take place in Paris.

Check 2013 programme
2010
31 August
EMBO Press introduces publication of source data

Clear Open Science policies on the availability of materials, data and software, data deposition to public databases and data presentation. In addition, EMBO Press implemented initiatives to improve data transparency, reuse and discoverability.

Further information
30 September
Maria Leptin is appointed as the fifth Director of EMBO
Read her biography
2011
EMBO Science Policy Programme launched
EMBO Policy
13 October
EMBO signs cooperation agreement with Singapore

The Government of Singapore signs a cooperation agreement with EMBC, the intergovernmental funding body for EMBO, allowing scientists from Singapore to participate in EMBO Programmes and activities.

Read the press release
2012
1 August
The EMBO Journal celebrates 30th anniversary
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29 November
Cooperation agreement for Taiwanese scientists

The National Science Council of Taiwan signs a cooperation agreement with EMBC, the intergovernmental funding body for EMBO, allowing Taiwanese scientists to participate in EMBO Programmes and activities.

Read the press release
2013
13 May
EMBO is an original signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)

The Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) recognizes the need to improve the ways in which the outputs of scholarly research are evaluated. The declaration was developed in 2012 during the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco. It has become a worldwide initiative covering all scholarly disciplines and all key stakeholders including funders, publishers, professional societies, institutions, and researchers.

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15 December
EMBO Press launched

EMBO Press - a new publishing platform for The EMBO Journal, EMBO reports, Molecular Systems Biology and EMBO Molecular Medicine that provides opportunities for the future development of the journals is launched

2014
7 May
EMBO expands its membership to the fields of neuroscience and ecology & evolution

EMBO has decided to strategically expand the scope of its membership on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The 106 new members for 2014 include 50 scientists who have made exceptional contributions to these research areas.

Read the press release
2015
7 July
Singapore becomes first EMBC Associate Member State
2016
2 February
India becomes EMBC Associate Member State

The Government of the Republic of India, EMBO and its intergovernmental funding body, the EMBC, have signed a Cooperation Agreement to strengthen scientific interaction and collaborative research between India and Europe.

Read the press release
21 March
Malta joins the EMBC
13 June
Lithuania joins the EMBC
8 July
EMBO launches Source Data

A platform for researchers and publishers to make their papers discoverable based on their data content

Further information
2017
12 February
First joint meeting with the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
ASCB | EMBO Meeting 2017 logo

ASCB and EMBO start holding a joint annual meeting. It was renamed Cell Bio in 2020.

Further information
2018
EMBO signs cooperation agreement with Chile
Montenegro joins the EMBC
3 April
Life Science Alliance launched

EMBO Press, Rockefeller University Press and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press jointly launch the open access journal

Read the press release
2019
3 November
Global Investigator Network started

To connect young research group leaders across the world, EMBO launches the Global Investigator Network.

Further information
19 December
EMBO launches Review Commons

The platform for the peer review of preprints that allows seamless transfer to a growing number of affiliate journals

Further information
2021
19 October
EMBO launches the initiative increasing participation in EMBO programmes throughout Europe

EMBO adds activities to its programmes and launches new funding schemes for researchers in or going to one of nine countries

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2022
10 January
Fiona Watt becomes the sixth Director of EMBO
Fiona Watt appointed as new EMBO Director
Read her biography
2023
31 July
EMBO and the Japan Science and Technology Agency sign a memorandum of cooperation
17 November
Latvia joins the EMBC
2024
1 January
EMBO Press becomes fully Open Access

From 2024 on, all papers published in The EMBO Journal and EMBO Reports and the source data in all EMBO Press journals will be freely accessible with CC-BY licence

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15 January
EMBO Lab Sustainability Award launched

It recognizes new and significant contributions to the development of sustainable wet and dry labs with a focus on their environmental impact.

Further information
19 March
Maria Leptin | EMBO Science Journalism Fellowship launched

It supports science journalists and life scientists entering careers as science journalists

Further information
1965
EMBO Short-Term Fellowships
1971
EMBO Course on micromethods in molecular biology
1977
EMBO Course on bacterial plasmids
1979
EMBO Course on genetic and molecular analysis of development
1980
EMBO Practical Course on immuno-cytochemistry in brain research
1980
EMBO Course on recombinant DNA technology
1982
Announcement of The EMBO Journal
1982
EMBO Workshop on microinjection
1983
EMBO Workshop on papilloma viruses
1984
EMBO Workshop on protein-DNA interactions in bacteriophages
1985
EMBO Workshop on plant DNA infectious agents
1987
EMBO Practical Course on post-translational modifications
1988
EMBO Prectcal Course on flow cytometry
1989
100th issue of The EMBO Journal
1990
EMBO Practical Course ob RNA structure and protein-DNA interactions
1991
FEBS | EMBO Winter School on structural and motile proteins of the nucleus and cytoplasm
1992
EMBO Practical Course on techniques of mouse development genetics
1993
Workshop on alternate readings of the genetioc code
1994
EMBO | FEBS Practical Course on protein sorting and maturation in the ER
1995
EMBO Workshop on cell divisionn in higher plants
1996
New EMBO Members’s Workshop
1997
Symposium in honour of John Kendrew
1997
EMBO Workshop on molecular mechanisms in the replicative cycle of viruses in plants
1998
EMBO Practical Course on anylysis of RNA-protein interactions
1999
EMBO Workshop on molecular and cellular gerontology
2000
EMBO Gold Medal
2000
EMBO Practical Course on molecular genetics with the fission yeast
2001
EMBO Young Investigator Network
2002
EMBL | Salk | EMBO Conference on signaling and cancer
2002
EMBO Young Investigator PhD Course
2003
EMBO | FEBS Workshop on cytoskeleton research
2004
The EMBO Journal: new look, new pulisher
2005
EMBO | EMBL Science & Society Conference on science and security
2005
New EMBO Members’ Workshop
2007
EMBO | EMBL Science & Society Conference on the future of our species
2010
EMBO Workshop on RNA control of cell dynamics
2012
EMBO Practical Course on computational biology
2013
EMBO | EMBL Symposium on evolution and ecology
2013
The EMBO Meeting
2014
EMBO Global Activities
2014
FEBS | EMBO Meeting
2017
ASCB | EMBO Meeting
2017
EMBO Workshop on mitochondria, apopotosis and cancer
2018
EMBO Practical Course on light electron micriscopy
2020
Review Commons launch
2021
EMBO Young Scientists Forum
2022
EMBO Workshop on cancer evolution
2022
40 years of The EMBO Journal
2023
Molecular Systems Biology
2023
Symposium in honour of Maria Leptin
2024
EMBO | EMBL Symposia overview poster
2024
EMBO | The Company of Biologists Workshop

Since its foundation in 1964, EMBO has supported thousands of talented researchers at different stages of their careers, stimulated the exchange of scientific information, advanced scientific publishing and helped build a research environment in which scientists can achieve their best work. This movie features the history, highlights some of the achievements and provides an outlook for the future.