Created 10/07/2015 Updated 10/02/2017

The ppEMBRC project is funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (preparatory phase call FP7-INFRASTRUCTURES-2010-1) under the grant agreement no 262280.

The European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) chose the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC) — a research infrastructure dedicated to marine biological resources — to become one of the large European research centres. EMBRC will offer scientists the possibility to use the most cutting-edge techniques to analyse the composition, the function and the diversity of marine organisms. The Centre will give added value to research in life, environmental and biomedical sciences. Designed as a hub for all the major European marine stations, this new European Marine Biological Resource Centre will facilitate the development of new approaches to study the evolution and the adaptation of organisms with regard to environmental change.

EMBRC seeks to become an all-encompassing facility for studying the biology of model marine organisms by providing access to models and their ecosystems, access to core facilities and access to technological and scientific expertise. Pooling the existing scientific and technological resources and services in marine stations and coordinating access to them and their improvement will greatly facilitate progress in using genomics, molecular and systems biology approaches for marine biology and ecology research. The infrastructure will be open to European researchers working in universities and research institutes in which model marine organisms are not available. The EMBRC possesses two main advantages: it will cover all the types of European ecosystems found from the North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and it will provide access to a great diversity of marine organisms.

The Networks of Excellence instigated under FP6 (2002-06) formed scientific communities with a European dimension revolving around marine organisms and ecosystems. The ASSEMBLE project participates in developing the European community of marine biologists by facilitating access to research tools. By organising European marine stations around shared strategies and services, EMBRC is a new, crucial step for research and higher education as well as for the dissemination and transfer of knowledge in marine biology. Over the long term, EMBRC envisages to become a world-ranking infrastructure for exploring and promoting marine biological resources

EMBRC networks the main marine biology stations located in the peripherical regions of Europe, and strives to foster innovation. In July 2014, nine countries had signed a memorandum of understanding to create this infrastructure, planned for 2016. France hosts its statutory seat in Paris.