Research

From genomes to organisms, EMBL is exploring the secrets of life

EMBL’s diverse research programme is pushing the limits of biological knowledge, with our researchers developing innovative techniques and technologies as part of the process.

Research Units

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory is made up of many independent groups of research scientists, who work on a wide range of biological topics. EMBL categorises these groups by area of scientific interest into nine research units. This structure helps EMBL scientists working on similar scientific questions to leverage common tools and experimental apparatus.

EMBL Programme

Pushing boundaries in research, services, training and technology


Learn more about EMBL research

EMBL Faculty

Explore how EMBL research groups collaborate with partners

Publications

Explore EMBL’s full list of scientific publications and preprints which go back as far as 1979

Cross-cutting research topics

From exploring the molecular components inside a cell to studying whole populations and ecosystems, EMBL scientists will explore these different scales through research themes that foster collaborative, multidisciplinary research.

EMBL maintains close cooperative affiliations with organisations of comparable standard, vision and international orientation.

These institutional collaborations are based on shared goals and scientific synergy or complementarity. The aim is to create a network of institutions that enhance molecular life science in Europe and around the world.


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Scientific Workflows Developer

Technology in EMBL Heidelberg

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is Europe’s life sciences laboratory – an intergovernmental organisation with more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology. It operates across six sites in Heidelberg (headquarters), Barcelona,...

Closes on 16th February. Posted 14th January 2026

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Database Engineer

Technology in EMBL-EBI Hinxton

About the TeamThe Database team at EMBL-EBI provides day-to-day database administration support, performance tuning and query optimisation for the production, development and test database environments operated by our end users (the bioinformatics, technical and research teams of EMBL-EBI). The larg...

Closes on 6th February. Posted 13th January 2026

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Senior Platform Developer

Technology in EMBL-EBI Hinxton

About the TeamWould you like to build the foundations of great services used by researchers from around the world to interrogate and explore genomic data? Are you interested in a technical role that shapes and improves the infrastructure behind some of the World’s most widely used scientific data re...

Closes on 6th February. Posted 5th January 2026

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Inklusionshilfe (m/w/d) – EMBL Kinderhaus (Kindergarten Gruppe, Midi Job)

Science, research and training in EMBL Heidelberg

Wie in allen anderen Bereichen strebt das EMBL danach, auch der Forschungsverwaltung Modellcharakter zu verleihen. Der EMBL Kindergarten betreut als Betriebskindertagesstätte ganztägig bis zu 128 Kinder im Alter von 3 Monaten bis 6 Jahren in 10 Gruppen. Wir bieten motivierten und engagierten Erziehe...

Closes on 31st January. Posted 23rd December 2025

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With support from more than 30 countries, laboratories at six sites across Europe and thousands of scientists and engineers working together, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is a powerhouse of biological expertise. EMBL is an intergovernmental organisation, headquartered in Heidelberg, and was founded in 1974 with the mission of promoting molecular biology research in Europe, training young scientists, and developing new technologies.

EMBL currently employs more than 1800 people in Barcelona, ​​Grenoble, Hamburg, Heidelberg, EMBL-EBI Hinxton (near Cambridge), and Rome.

Publishing hundreds of research articles and hosting dozens of conferences every year, EMBL is driving visionary fundamental research and training Europe’s future scientific talent.

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