Application
About
Since 1999, EMBO Members have been provided with financial support to give plenary lectures at major international scientific meetings. While the suport allows EMBO Members to intensify exchange and collaboration between scientists from associated fields, it also draws attention to EMBO programmes and activities within the scientific community worldwide.
Meeting organizers apply for the support of the EMBO Member. Priority will be given to applications received at least nine months prior to the start of the meeting. The lecture must be given the status of a plenary lecture, be featured prominently within the programme and be entitled, ‘The EMBO Lecture’. Please note that funding is not available for EMBO Plenary Lectures at EMBO Conference Series or Workshops.
How to apply:
- Apply online via the online application system
- Provide a complete programme of the meeting, clearly indicating the proposed EMBO Plenary Lecture slot
- Ensure that the spectrum of speakers and attendees is international in its scope
- Ensure that the invited speaker resides outside of the host country
Application deadlines: 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December. Applicants will be notified within six weeks of the deadline.
Funding
A maximum of 1,000 euro (Europe) and 2,000 euro (international) to cover travel, accommodation and subsistence costs will be reimbursed to the speaker, who will be requested to submit an expense claim form together with related receipts to the EMBO office.
The following costs will not be covered:
- Stipend for the speaker
- Conference registration fee
- Costs towards the general organization of the meeting
Conditions of Funding
Application should be made by the meeting organizer and should fulfill the following requirements:
- Funding will only be provided for one speaker per meeting.
- Support will only be provided for a speaker who is an EMBO Member. A list of EMBO Members is distributed annually to the EMBO membership. A searchable database is also available.
- The lecture should be given plenary lecture status, be featured prominently within the meeting programme and be entitled “The EMBO Lecture”.
- The speaker should be introduced at the meeting by the organizer as an EMBO Plenary Lecturer. The EMBO Courses & Workshops office will ask the speaker to make some general comments on EMBO and its activities and will provide a Powerpoint slide for this purpose. In addition, a selection of EMBO publicity material will be sent to the organizer for display at the meeting.
- The EMBO logo, which will also be provided by the EMBO Courses & Workshops office, should be included on all publicity related to the meeting.
Selection
Applications are assessed following the quarterly deadlines of 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December.
Each application is reviewed by one member of the EMBO Course Committee. All correspondence concerning applications should be conducted with the EMBO office (courses_workshops @ embo.org). Any attempts to influence the decision process by contacting individual members of the committee will result in disqualification of the application. Decisions are sent by email to applicants within six weeks of the deadline.

