Agreement signed with Latvia's Biomedical Research and Study Centre will boost academic exchange and collaboration on some of the largest challenges facing human and planetary health
EMBL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Latvia's Biomedical Research and Study Centre (BMC), marking an important milestone for the two organisations, and paving the way for further cooperation. The agreement aims to stimulate academic exchange between EMBL and BMC, in order to ensure greater connectivity, availability of scientific data, use of shared key technologies, and circulation of talent. It will enable BMC to further cement its position as a centre of excellence in the fields of molecular diagnostics, personalised therapeutics, and innovative medicines.
The agreement comes at a particularly exciting time for EMBL and its member states, following the launch of 'Molecules to Ecosystems'. This new Programme will run until 2026, and sets out the organisation's aim to understand ecosystems at the molecular level as well as studying life in context. EMBL will build on its existing and globally recognised expertise in molecular biology, and expand into areas such as microbial ecosystems, a theme which is of particular interest to BMC and will offer rich opportunities for Latvia's life science community.
BMC is the leading institute for molecular biology and biomedicine in Latvia. Since its establishment in 1993, it has developed into a respected centre for basic and applied research, in areas such as cancer research, disease mechanisms, and virology. Latvia joined EMBL as a prospect member in 2020, and this agreement represents another important step towards full membership.
Commenting on this milestone, EMBL Director General Edith Heard said, "The signing of this agreement represents a commitment by EMBL and Latvia to collaborate deeper on cutting-edge science. This is an exciting and important moment for European life sciences, and EMBL is building strong links between leading institutions in order to rise to present and future challenges. Agreements like this one are acknowledgements that the global issues we face must be addressed with cross-border approaches."
