11 September 2024 – Juan Cruz Cigudosa, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Universities of Spain, visited EMBL and EMBO in Heidelberg. During the meeting with EMBO Director Fiona Watt, the Secretary of State, who was accompanied by Secretary General for Research Eva Ortega and EMBC Delegate Ignacio Baanante, the discussion focused on the role of EMBO in strengthening basic research in the life sciences and supporting life scientists in Spain, Europe, and beyond.
The EMBO community of scientists in Spain is extensive: 78 life scientists conducting research in Spain are EMBO Members, 37 scientists are former or current EMBO Young Investigators, and 10 postdoctoral researchers are currently funded through EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships. Researchers in Spain consistently secure funding through EMBO Programmes, which support scientists at all stages of their careers. Between 2019 and 2024, EMBO awarded 651 scientific exchange grants to researchers from Spanish institutions for their scientific training abroad. Spain also continues to attract scientists from other countries: during the same period, 66 researchers from abroad used EMBO Scientific Exchange Grants to train at Spanish institutions. This year, the EMBO Gold Medal for scientists under the age of 40 was awarded to Evan Böke of the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona. In addition, 47 scientific events with over 5,000 participants were organized with funding or co-funding from EMBO.
