In 1964, the founders of EMBO aimed to raise the level of biological research in Europe by setting the highest standards to achieve scientific excellence. Remaining true to this early vision, their principles and standards continue to guide our activities today.
EMBO immediately began to enhance interactions between European laboratories with the election of 140 biologists as the organization’s first members and by granting the first postdoctoral fellowships. In 1974, EMBO fulfilled its second founding mandate: the establishment of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
Support for EMBO actions came in 1969 with the formation of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) as the organization’s intergovernmental funding body.
