EMBO|EMBC

➔ 4
Frank Gannon
EMBO Executive Director
EMBC Secretary General
preface EMBO & EMBC 2006
Those familiar with the language of annual reports
will not be surprised to read that 2006
was another excellent year for EMBO and EMBC.
As clichéd as this may sound, there is no better
way to describe a year that has seen a level
of success on par with, and at times exceeding,
previous years. When excellence becomes the
standard opener for an annual report, it may
not make for exciting reading but it is certainly
worth reporting.
This degree of consistency and stability
comes with maturity. Those who have followed
the evolution of EMBO in its annual reports, or
elsewhere, will know that new activities introduced
over the years (see page 10 for the timeline)
have now become familiar components of
the general programme of EMBC and EMBO. This
is not a chance event but an outcome based
on early analysis by EMBO and EMBC as to how
both organisations could maximise their infl uence
on life sciences research in Europe.
Evidence of this infl uence today and the
benefi t for the scientifi c community can be
seen in the continued popularity of EMBO activities.
In 2006, the Fellowship Programme and the
Courses & Workshops Programme again saw a
record number of applications, while the Young
Investigator and Science & Society Programmes
offered a growing range of highly appreciated
activities. These programmes are underpinned
by an increasingly important Electronic Information
Programme, which supports EMBO’s online
www.embo.org | embo@embo.org
application systems and electronic services. At
the same time, all three EMBO journals continued
to perform well and develop in line with the
requirements of the scientifi c community.
The needs of the scientifi c community in Europe
were very much at the forefront of a new
initiative from EMBO and EMBC in 2006 – the
EMBO Installation Grants (see page 27). As with
the more established components of the general
programme, the new grants were launched
after considerable analysis. Earlier pilot activities,
carried out in conjunction with the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), initially targeted
scientists in Central and Eastern Europe.
The new scheme has a potentially wider reach,
working in an à-la-carte manner with EMBC
Member States participating on a needs basis.
The aim is to encourage top-class scientists to
establish their laboratories in countries that
have not yet reached their full scientifi c potential.
By seeding quality research groups in these
countries, the potential is there to raise scientifi
c standards generally and ensure that recipients
of internationally competitive funding,
such as the European Research Council grants,
come from all countries in Europe. So far the
EMBC’s response to the new scheme has been
enthusiastic with seven member states signing
up to participate. The scientifi c community has
also responded in turn with a total of 74 applications
in the fi rst round. The Young Investigator