Engineering and Physics

At EMBL, engineering and physics play a central role in driving technological innovation and research in the life sciences.

Engineering and physics are deeply embedded in the interdisciplinary research culture at EMBL. Experts from diverse technical fields – including biophysics, optics, spectroscopy, imaging, robotics, microengineering, and AI – work alongside biologists to develop new technologies and tools that enable breakthrough discoveries.

These disciplines provide enabling technology for many biological applications, such as studies on the cytoskeleton and cell mechanics, structural biology, microscopy, single-cell/single-molecule assays and high-throughput screening. They also allow us to embed AI deeply into lab workflows, optimising experimental design, automation, and hypothesis-driven research to streamline discovery.

Get in touch!

If you have any questions or want to speak with one of our experts, please do get in touch. We would be delighted to hear from you. Contact us at: techdev@embl.org.

Highlights

EasyGrid

A platform for automated cryo-electron microscopy sample preparation and quality control.

Meet our teams

EMBL offers a unique opportunity to be involved in highly interdisciplinary projects in the life sciences, such as:

Light Imaging Facility

EMBL Rome

The facility integrates cutting-edge imaging technology, advanced image analysis, and automation with robotics and fluidics to support tissue biology and spatial-omics research.

Engineers at EMBL

Victor Armijo, a mechatronics engineer at EMBL Grenoble, helps design and develop key components for state-of-the-art instruments that scientists use to explore biological structures. This technology is then transferred to companies that commercialise it for research facilities’ use worldwide. Watch more videos in our ‘Technology and engineering’ playlist.

Fellowships and training

ARISE Programme

Offers interdisciplinary training that equips engineers and physicists with the skills to develop and apply cutting-edge technologies in the life sciences and helps them gain expertise at the interface of research and service provision.

EIPOD-LinC Programme

Provides interdisciplinary training across scientific domains, allowing postdocs to apply their technological expertise to addressing complex biological questions and preparing them for leadership roles in collaborative, cross-domain research environments.

EIROforum School on Instrumentation

Offers young researchers and engineers a journey into cutting-edge instrumentation, including detector design, radiation effects, data acquisition, AI, optics, and more. The school includes hands-on sessions and visits to research infrastructures.

Latest updates on engineering

Technology transfer and partnerships

The development of new instruments and technologies has a long history at EMBL. To ensure these developments benefit society, EMBL actively engages in technology transfer and industry relations.

EMBLEM

EMBLEM is the commercial arm of EMBL, which identifies, protects, and commercialises the intellectual property developed at EMBL by EMBL alumni and by non-EMBL third parties.

AI at EMBL

AI at EMBL is EMBL’s ambitious initiative that aims to make the most of the vast potential of AI-based approaches to advance scientific discovery.

Edit
About EMBL EMBL Logo made of scientific icons

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.

Edit