EMBL Australia

Despite the challenges and disruptions imposed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the EMBL Australia Partner Laboratory Network continued to produce fantastic science, attract highly competitive research grants and grow in size. Many of our researchers contributed scientifically to the international battle against coronavirus and continued to build up Australia's research infrastructure capabilities across the various PLN host institutions.

In 2018, the EMBL Australia Partner Laboratory Network continued to expand, with four new group leaders and one new host institution joining the network. Our researchers published significant papers, were awarded a number of grants to expand their innovative research and strengthened international ties with the EMBL via a three-day delegation to tour facilities and initiate research collaborations.

In 2019, the EMBL Australia Partner Laboratory Network continued to expand, with the addition of three new research groups. We trained hundreds of PhD students in the life sciences through various student programs, strengthened international linkages and our researchers were awarded a number of highly competitive grants, made innovative discoveries and published many high-impact papers.

EMBL Australia has continued to thrive as a research organisation with strong local and international linkages. In 2016, the Partner Laboratory Network almost doubled in size, with four new and promising early-career researchers establishing their laboratories at our existing host institutes and more institutes coming on board, and we continued to strengthen ties between the international and Australian research communities.

In 2015-16, EMBL Australia moved into a new phase with the renewal of Australia's associate membership of EMBL funded by the Australian Government and a new governance structure.

This coincided with a change in both the Chair of the EMBL Australia Council and Scientific Head of the organisation and the continued expansion of the Partner Laboratory Network.

The past year has seen EMBL Australia expand considerably, with our node at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute becoming firmly established and a new node created at the University of New South Wales. Both these nodes are recruiting group leaders for further expansion, as are the Victorian node at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Monash University and a new node at the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, also based at Monash University.

2013 has been a year of growth and renewal for EMBL Australia.

Our biggest achievement this past year has been the establishment of the South Australian node at the new South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). On behalf of the EMBL Australia Council, I’d like to welcome Ville-Petteri Mäkinen and David Lynn to EMBL Australia, and wish them all the best in their research endeavours.

2012 has been a busy and important year for EMBL Australia.

As required by the then Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, a review was conducted of the progress made by EMBL Australia since Australia was accepted as the first Associate Member of EMBL in 2008.

Significant achievements for EMBL Australia in 2011 included the establishment of the first two EMBL Australia Partner Laboratories (under group leaders Edwina McGlinn and Nicolas Plachta at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University) and the launch and commencement of operation of the EMBL Australia Mirror of the EMBL-EBI at The University of Queensland.

2010 was a seminal year in the EMBL Australia initiative. Our official launch by Minister Carr in March coincided with the announcement of several key developments. These developments included the appointments of our Scientific Head and first Partner Laboratory Group Leaders, along with the announcement of a second node and associated national network for bioinformaticians.