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In December 1965 EMBO secured a grant from the Volkswagen Foundation to fund their activities for 3 years. EMBO was keen that it’s financial support from the VW foundation not be permanent, as it wished for its long term funding to come from all participating nations, rather than organisations belonging to just one in order to ensure its independence.

EMBO, alongside its Swiss partners, organized two “temporary” conferences attended by governmental representatives to establish a consensus for an inter-governmental organization. The two focus points of these meetings were the long-term management of EMBO’s programs, and the question of establishing a European Laboratory.

Through these two conferences the constitution of the European Molecular Biology Conference was established, and in 1970, 14 governments officially established the EMBC, which to the present day supports EMBO’s General Programme. Over the years this programme has expanded through the EMBC creating “special projects” to allow new activities to be performed. It was through this process that the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) was created.

In December 1965 EMBO secured a grant from the Volkswagen Foundation to fund their activities for 3 years. EMBO was keen that it’s financial support from the VW foundation

not be permanent, as it wished for its long term funding to come from all participating nations, rather than organisations belonging to just one in order to ensure its independence.
EMBO, alongside its Swiss partners, organized two “temporary” conferences attended by governmental representatives to establish a consensus for an inter-governmental organization. The two focus points of these meetings were the long-term management of EMBO’s programs, and the question of establishing a European Laboratory.
Through these two conferences the constitution of the European Molecular Biology Conference was established, and in 1970, 14 governments officially established the EMBC, which to the present day supports EMBO’s General Programme. Over the years this programme has expanded through the EMBC creating “special projects” to allow new activities to be performed under EMBO’s remit. It’s through this system that EMBL was born, as well as newer EMBO programmes like its Global Activities and Young Investigator Programme.

The Fund Committee was first appointed by council on May 8th 1965, in order to manage funds the organization were to receive from the Volkswagen Foundation in December of that year . The Purpose of the Fund Committee was to handle all classes of Fellowship appointments: short-term, long-term, and senior, as well as engaging in financial supervision of the EMBO program.

The purpose of short-term fellowships was to facilitate collaboration between different scientific institutions through the provision of funds for travel and subsistence, and to make these funding decisions within a very short timeframe. In the beginning, one of the most popular uses of these grants was to allow scientists from smaller institutions to have access to complex scientific equipment at larger ones, and the program was incredibly popular from the very beginning. These fellowships lasted up to 3 months.

Long-term fellowships were modeled after the American post-doctoral fellowships of the time, enabling young researchers to carry out in-depth research immediately following their PHDs in leading hubs of scientific activity, widening their experience, building relationships with other scientists, and improving the quality of their work. EMBO was keen to ensure the highest caliber of candidates and endeavored where possible to have a member of the committee interview the applicants. These fellowships lasted up to 2 years.

Senior Appointments (also known as visiting professorships and senior fellowships) were initially designed to fund scientists of a professorial rank to travel to other laboratories in to foster collaboration. In 1966, council expanded this idea to include scientists of any rank or experience who worked with new skills and techniques, or those at the forefront of novel research.

In 1997 the first EMBO Fellows meeting took place, giving Fellows the opportunity to network with their peers and EMBO staff, sharing their work and their experiences.

In 1999 a network of EMBO Fellows was created, with the intention of increasing participation in EMBO activities amongst fellows, especially in the nascent Science and Society Program.

The Membership Department administers EMBO’s elected membership, the core body of the organization since its foundation in 1964. From the beginning, the EMBO Secretariat managed the nomination and election of Members. As membership grew through the 1980s and 1990s, these tasks developed into a dedicated function within the EMBO Office in Heidelberg. The department's main responsibilities are administering the annual nomination and voting process for new Members and Associate Members, acting as the point of contact for Members and communicating announcements, updates, and recognition of new elections, and keeping the official membership register and related biographical data.

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) was founded in 1964 as a professional society for life scientists with the goal of strengthening molecular biology research in Europe and fostering international collaboration. Its creation was inspired by a growing recognition in the postwar period that Europe needed stronger infrastructure and cooperation to remain competitive in biological sciences, particularly compared with the United States.

In its early years, EMBO focused on supporting scientific exchange and training, notably through fellowships that enabled young researchers to work abroad and acquire new expertise, as well as its core membership. EMBO also began organising scientific meetings, workshops, and courses that encouraged collaboration and the dissemination of knowledge across national boundaries.

As one way of meeting its goals, EMBO considered the creation of a central laboratory, and along with the EMBC created the EMBL in 1974.

Over time, EMBO expanded its activities to include scientific publishing (launching The EMBO Journal in 1982, followed by other high-impact journals), policy advocacy for life sciences, and the development of programs that supported career progression, such as the EMBO Young Investigator Programme (1999) and EMBO Global Investigator Network (2019).

Today, EMBO represents over 2,000 elected members and associate members worldwide. It continues to play a vital role in promoting excellence in the life sciences through funding, training, networking, publishing, and policy engagement, with an enduring emphasis on international cooperation and scientific quality.