Press Release: Instruct-ERIC was launched at a ceremony in London (25.7.2017)
At a Royal Society awards ceremony celebrating the prestigious new European Commission-approved status for structural biology Instruct Research Infrastructure, UK Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation Jo Johnson recognised the value and relevance of collaborative work between the UK and European scientists.
Instruct is a pan-European partnership giving researchers vital access to advanced instrumentation and the necessary training. The equipment is typically very expensive and requires specific technical experience. Technology and infrastructure are at the heart of the revolution to connect atomic resolution of molecular structures with functionality at the cellular level, and technical advances are constantly pushing the science forward.
The new legal status for Instruct transforms it into a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), joining 16 others across Europe. As the second UK-hosted ERIC, Instruct will provide the European structural biology community with continued access to high-quality, stable and sustainable services.
Over the past four decades, European researchers have played a pivotal role in developing increasingly sophisticated technologies including super-powerful cryo-electron microscopes. Instruct has been supported since its inception by the Medical Research Council, on behalf of the UK as the host country.
Czech Republic is one of the founding members of Instruct being host to National Affiliated Centre of Instruct since 2011. In 2016 the Czech Integrative Infrastructure for Structural Biology has been upgraded to the Full Instruct Centre status, thus providing also access to its technologies and services to the wide Instruct community.
Instruct provides access to some of the most sophisticated methods that allows researchers to generate images of molecules at near-atomic level, in far greater detail than was previously possible. This detail allows them to understand how the molecular machines in our bodies work and determine the building blocks of proteins, viruses and cells. Cryo-EM, one of the key technologies at the forefront of the structure revolution, is allowing researchers to better understand how diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease, affect the brain, and how specific molecules involved in causing disease might be targeted with drugs or vaccines.
Minister Jo Johnson was able to announce at the event new multi-million pound funding for further cryo-EM facilities in UK, some of which will be available through the Instruct Centre UK, located in Oxford and the Harwell Research Campus. This investment combined with the new status of Instruct-ERIC, will enable the best and brightest minds across Europe to continue to share knowledge and state-of-the-art equipment, to advance discovery science and improve human health.
Professor David Stuart, Director of Instruct-ERIC and MRC Professor at the University of Oxford, said: “Continued stability for partnerships across Europe is invaluable at this critical and exciting time for structural biology. International collaboration has always been important for structural biology as we need the collective knowledge and skills of chemists, physicists, computer scientists and biologists to develop the technology, before we can advance the science. Today’s announcements represent a welcome commitment to strengthening infrastructure, research collaborations and enabling the brightest minds to work together across borders.”
Dr Nathan Richardson, MRC Head of Molecular and Cellular Medicine and Chair of Instruct-ERIC Council, said: “We’re delighted to be able to provide extra support, complementary to other investments, enabling access for even more researchers to cutting-edge technology at a crucial time, allowing them to tackle the biological questions that will help advance human health.”
Instruct-ERIC decision adopted
The European Commission adopted the Instruct-ERIC decision on the 4th July 2017. Instruct is the 17th ERIC to be adopted.
Instruct was initiated in 2008 as a European-funded Preparatory Phase Project 211252 in the ESFRI Programme. In 2011, Instruct entered a transitional phase and in 2012 was operational, providing the first access to Instruct infrastructure through its Centres. Instruct has grown to provide new infrastructure, now modes of service delivery, excellent training courses and internships and has supported scientists through its R&D Pilot programme. Instruct-ERIC will provide the stability and sustainability for Instruct services to the structural biology community and to other life sciences communities within Europe.
Instruct was awarded an EU-funded project ‘Instruct-ULTRA’ in 2017 to further expand Instruct membership and services. Instruct-ULTRA will enable Instruct to work with new communities and extend and evolve the Instruct infrastructure to meet the demand of researchers wanting high quality structural technologies and methods.
In the nine years of Instruct development, there have been many people who have contributed and this success is thanks to them. Congratulations to all who played their part and we look forward to a bright and productive future as Instruct-ERIC.
UK minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation Jo Johnson receives on behalf of the UK as the host country Instruct-ERIC plaque from Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General, Research and Innovation, European Commission.
Pozn: Součástí výzkumné infrastruktury v oblasti strukturní biologie Instruct jsou také česká centra BIOCEV a CEITEC
Instruct je celoevropská výzkumná infrastruktura v oblasti strukturální biologie, která uživatelům poskytuje nejnovější technologie a metody. Program Instruct byl zahájen v roce 2008 jako evropský projekt financovaný přípravou Phase 211252 v rámci programu ESFRI. V roce 2011 vstoupil Instruct do přechodné fáze a v roce 2012 byl v provozu a poskytl první přístup k infrastruktuře Instruct prostřednictvím svých středisek.
Instruct se rozrostl, aby poskytl novou infrastrukturu, nové způsoby poskytování služeb, vynikající vzdělávací kurzy a stáže a podpořil vědce prostřednictvím svého programu vědy a výzkumu Pilot. Instruct-ERIC bude schopen poskytovat lepší služby širší komunitě strukturální biologie a dalším společenstvím věd o živé přírodě po celé Evropě.
Odkaz na oficiální prohlášení na stránkách MŠMT - http://www.msmt.cz/vyzkum-a-vyvoj-2/ceska-republika-zakladatelskym-statem-evropskeho-konsorcia?source=rss