EMBL Australia

For more than 15 years, EMBL Australia has focused on attracting the very best emerging scientists from across the globe to Australia and delivering top-quality science, as well as state-of-the-art interdisciplinary training to the next generation of researchers. The return on investment is evident.

Looking ahead, sustained long-term investment into international partnerships is essential for Australia to remain at the forefront of health and science research.

The past year marked a significant period of reconnection and scientific advancement within our research community. It was a year of scientific success for many in our PLN, with members involved in securing $66.7 million in competitive grants to support their groundbreaking and collaborative research. This injection of additional funding will help shape the future of healthcare, not just in Australia but worldwide, by supporting the varied and cutting-edge research happening across the Partner Laboratory Network.

In the face of the difficulties brought on by the ongoing pandemic, 2021 demonstrated, perhaps more than ever before, the need for strong research networks and access to advanced services, training and tools in the life sciences in order to rise up to the challenges that this pandemic created. EMBL Australia researchers continued to deliver cutting-edge science in an array of fields, from innovative COVID-19 research, to battling superbugs, breakthroughs in tissue repair and more.

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 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.

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.

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.