Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- ELSF
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
In 1999, EMBO, EMBL, and ELSO engaged in talks to create a Forum for the life sciences in Europe, coming together at a meeting at the EMBO headquarters to establish the ELSF shortly thereafter. The ELSF aimed to empower scientists to engage more actively in strategic and science policy matters, to present a unified voice on issues of shared concern, and to enhance the visibility and policy influence of organisations representing the life sciences.
A small governing body was appointed consisting of Frank Gannon, Fotis Kafatos, Kai Simons, and Julio E. Celis as President. Luc van Dyck joined as manager six months after the organisation was created. The secretariat was set up at the EMBL/EMBO facilities in Heidelberg and the EMBL, EMBO, and FEBS offered to cover a large fraction of the expenses for a period of 3 years.
Additionally, the ELSF identified as priorities the career of young scientists and the creation of a European Research Council (ERC) to support basic research.