A guide for Young Investigators
The EMBO Young Investigator Programme offers a number of unique benefits to support the young group leaders in establishing a reputation as excellent scientists.
- Financial award
- Small Grants
- Networking
- Annual EMBO Young Investigator Meeting
- Sectoral meetings
- Young Investigator lectures
- Young Investigator booklet
- Meeting support
- Mentorship
- Laboratory Management Courses
- Access to EMBL core facilities
- Annual Nature jobs postings
- Annual YIP PhD course
- EMBO Young Scientists' Forum
- Support for local PhD Courses
- Meeting grants
- Support for participation in the annual Nobel Laureate meeting
- Young Investigator newsletters
- EMBO reports and The EMBO Journal
Aside from the global exposure and enhanced reputation that association with EMBO brings, membership of the Young Investigator Programme offers a host of other benefits.
Investigators receive an award of 15,000 euro per year for the three years of their membership. The award may be paid either via EMBO or via the Member State directly, depending on the arrangement with the hosting Member State. No overheads can be taken from an EMBO Young Investigator Award. Please request further information from us regarding the distribution. The following Member States have agreed to pay the monetary award: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. EMBO Installation Grantees receive 50,000 euro annually from the hosting EMBC Member State via EMBO. The award is initially made for three years; extension by two years is subject to review by the EMBO Young Investigator Committee during the third year.
Annual award from individual EMBC Member States: Installation Grants
The EMBO Installation Grant has to be taken up within the calendar year after selection. A maximum of 10% of the award will be allowed for overheads. A maximum of 20% can be used towards the salary of the successful applicant. The grant can be spent at the discretion of the grantee in support of the laboratory's research efforts. The grant does not have to be spent within the calendar year but can be forwarded to future years within the granting period.
Installation Grantees have to submit an annual scientific report (one page) and a financial report to EMBO at the end of each calendar year during the granting period.
Small Grants
An annual call is made within the programme for small grants for current EMBO Young Investigators and Installation Grantees who need additional funds (up to 10,000 euro). A committee made up by the Young Investigator Committee Chair, Programme Manager and EMBO Director decide upon the distribution of funds.
Annual EMBO Young Investigator Meeting
The meeting facilitates networking amongst Young Investigators, Installation Grantees and EMBL group leaders. All programme members (past and present) are invited to participate. Meetings take place at the EMBL, and every third year in a programme member’s institute.
We will reimburse travel to/from the meeting – please see our Travel Guidelines document. For reimbursement please fill in the Travel Expense Claim Form and return to the programme office with original receipts (see Forms & Guidelines page).
Sectoral meetings
Programme membership currently exceeds 300 including past members and Installation Grantees. This allows the formation of focus groups such as in neurobiology, immunology, plant biology or DNA repair. These groups organize meetings and symposia tailored to various requirements and formats funded by EMBO. Should you wish organizing such an event, please contact the EMBO Young Investigator office to arrange the financial support for the meeting. A list of current groups and meetings can be found here.
Financial support for networking with other programme members or EMBL group leaders
The Young Investigator Programme supports collaborations between programme group members, or between programme member groups and EMBL groups. The collaboration can take the form of visits, student exchanges or joint group meetings. Please send an email to yip @ embo.org with a short description of the nature of the proposed collaboration and proposed budget. At least one current member must be involved. To claim reimbursement, please fill in the Networking Application and Report Form (see Forms & Guidelines page), and return the completed form with original receipts to the YIP office. For more details see the Networking Guidelines document (see Forms & Guidelines page).
The Programme aims to raise the profile of its members via their association with EMBO and its membership.
Young Investigator Lectures
To support and promote the active participation of EMBO Young Investigators at national and international meetings, the programme will support EMBO Young Investigators speaking at international meetings:
- Meeting organizers who wish to invite a Young Investigator to give a lecture can apply for sponsorship.
- Young Investigators who are organizing a meeting and plan to invite another member of the programme as a speaker can apply for sponsorship.
This sponsorship is only available for EMBO Young Investigators. Young Investigators are eligible for sponsorship until one year after the expiration of their regular membership – and are limited to two sponsored lectures per year. If you want to be sponsored as an EMBO Young Investigator lecturer, please send us an email. We will contact the organizers with the offer. More information, including conditions of Young Investigator Lecture Grants can be found here.
Meeting support
Scientific meetings organized by current programme members that address to a large part the younger scientific community can be supported with up to 5,000 euro. Conferences addressing the general scientific community can be supported with up to 3,000 euro. Please complete and return a Networking Application and Report Form (see Forms & Guidelines page) to apply for this funding.
EMBO Young Investigator booklet including profiles, research summaries and contact details
A booklet featuring each member of the programme is compiled and distributed annually. It includes profiles, research summaries and contact details of all current programme members. It is distributed to over 2,500 scientists, national and international granting agencies and ministries to increase the awareness of these excellent young scientists. See full list of downloadable booklets. In addition our web site features a searchable database of all Young Investigators and a list of current Young Investigators.
Mentorship by an EMBO Member
An EMBO Member chosen by the programme members serves as his/her mentor. The mentor gives advice on research projects and promotes the mentee's invitation to relevant conferences
To start a mentoring interaction, please send suggestions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We will make first contact with the person of your choice and ask them to be your mentor.
EMBO provides funds towards an annual visit. Please read the read the Travel Guidelines and use the Travel Expense Claim Form for travel claims (see Forms & Guidelines page). Initially the mentee invites their mentor for a visit to their institute.
Laboratory Management Courses tailored to scientists' needs
EMBO Laboratory Management Courses address issues of staff selection, leadership, effective problem solving and communication. Courses are offered throughout the year and are free of charge for programme members. Travel costs are not covered.
Access to core facilities at EMBL
EMBL has granted the EMBO Young Investigators and Installation Grantees access to its core facilities at the same rates as the EMBL group leaders. If you are interested in any of the services, please contact the EMBL core facility leaders directly. Some restrictions may apply due to internal policies. EMBL core facilities exist for Advanced Light Microscopy, Genomics, Proteomics, Protein Expression and Purification, Electron Microscopy, Flow Cytometry, Monoclonal Antibody and Chemical Biology.
Annual advert in Nature for PhD and post doc positions in EMBO Young Investigator laboratories
Programme members (current and past) are invited to post PhD or post doc positions available in their laboratories in an annual advert in the magazine 'Nature' outlining the position offered. The one-page advert is posted once per year (October/November) and is supported also by a web-page detailing the positions offered.
Annual PhD course for Young Investigator PhD students
Programme members annually organize a course for their PhD students, to give them an opportunity to experience the scientific diversity and resources assembled within the membership of the programme. Each year a group of Young Investigators gets together to plan this course. Students from all Young Investigator and Installation Grantee laboratories (present or past) are invited to apply for participation. The week-long course hosts 36 students and includes scientific lectures, tutorials, student research presentations, poster sessions, grant writing and paper review exercises. Participation fees for students are covered by EMBO.
EMBO Young Scientists’ Forum
The EMBO Young Scientists’ Forum aims to bring together young European researchers in order to motivate and inspire students to pursue their career and education in the life sciences. The meeting takes place once a year in a member state participating in the EMBO Installation Grant scheme.
Support for local PhD courses
Programme members who are organizing a PhD course in their local institutes can receive support for travel and accommodation for lectures/teaching support of up to two programme members per year, EMBO will cover up to 500 euro per person – please email the programme office to request support. For reimbursement of travel costs, please return a completed networking application/support form (see Forms & Guidelines page) with receipts.
Meeting Grants
Meeting grants support current young investigators or their group members attending scientific conferences with up to 500 euro (within Europe) or 1,000 euro (for conferences outside Europe). The grant can be used to cover registration, travel and/or accommodation for the participant. A maximum of 1000 euro is reserved per member per year. To request the support the group leader should fill in the Networking Application and Report Form (see Forms & Guidelines page) detailing the name of the group member and the conference that is to be attended and send this to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The YIP office will notify you of the acceptance of the request. After the conference, the group member should fill in the Networking Application and Report Form with a short report on the conference (max 150 words) indicating whether they presented a poster. Final costs and bank details should also be provided on the form, which should then be returned to the YIP office with the relevant receipts. If necessary the grant can be paid in advance.
Support for participation in the annual Nobel Laureate meeting
EMBO covers registration fees and accommodation (an overall value of 1,000 euro) for selected Young Investigator/Installation Grantees PhD students to attend the Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau. The Young Investigator host laboratory is expected to cover travel costs. EMBO is billed directly for those costs. Students/post docs have to apply for support with the EMBO Young Investigator office, who will contact the programme members each year to announce the timeframe for applications.
Young Investigator Newsletters
We keep in contact with you via an e-newsletter, updating you on upcoming events and deadlines, opportunities within the programme and news on other programme members. If you have any news you would like to be included please send us an email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
We are also always interested in news that may be suitable for EMBO’s newsletter, EMBO encounters http://www.embo.org/news.html.
Free subscription to EMBO reports for one year
Free subscription to EMBO reports and free online access to EMBO reports and The EMBO Journal for one year are automatically provided. Should you not receive a copy of EMBO reports, please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Further details about the benefits of programme membership can be found in our programme guide, available from the Forms & Guidelines page
