Founded in 1975, EMBL Grenoble is specialized in Structural Biology research and services. EMBL Grenoble shares the EPN Campus with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL) and the French national Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), whose complementary and integrated facilities provide a very rich environment for structural biologists. EMBL Grenoble scientists focus both on fundamental research in structural molecular biology, and on developing state-of-the art instrumentation, methods and services.

The research groups at EMBL Grenoble focus mainly on RNA biology and infection biology, in particular the structural molecular biology of protein-RNA complexes involved in gene expression and host-pathogen interactions. The latter includes work on important human viral, parasite and bacterial pathogens. In addition, three technology-focused teams develop and deploy as services to the broader scientific community innovative and automated structural biology technologies related to protein crystallisation, structure determination by X-ray crystallography, small-angle scattering and cryo-electron microscopy methods, as well as ligand screening for drug development.

The Head of EMBL Grenoble is Dr Stephen Cusack FRS.