The EMBL Centre for Disease Mechanisms was established to support medically relevant research at EMBL by expanding the interface and facilitating translational research between EMBL groups and clinical research activities at Europe's medical institutions. The Centre aims to promote the increasingly important application of basic research to the understanding and treatment of human disease, to add value and expertise to ongoing research developments as well as to disseminate new tools, resources and skills. This initiative reflects EMBL's commitment to investigate the causes and contribute to cures of human disorders through molecular and biomedical exploration.

Through the Centre for Disease Mechanisms, EMBL members are assisted to identify and develop clinically relevant aspects of their individual research projects. In turn, the Centre provides external institutions and individuals with access to the conceptual and technical advances in molecular genetics, molecular tools and assays, as well as high-throughput and other high-tech facilities at EMBL. The Centre also offers specific training opportunities for clinicians in the molecular life sciences. Development of molecular, cellular and animal models of disease at EMBL will be enhanced by collaborative projects with clinical partner institutions.