On September 7–8, the Nencki Institute hosted 150 scientists from Poland and abroad who came together to discuss research, share experiences, and forge new connections.

The meeting offered an opportunity to strengthen collaboration and to present the latest research and opportunities offered both by EMBL (the European Molecular Biology Laboratory) and by the Polish life sciences community. The program featured talks and poster sessions from researchers at various career stages — EMBL alumni now working in Poland, as well as scientists from the institution itself.

The venue was no accident. The Nencki Institute has worked with EMBL for many years. "In September 2018, we signed our first bilateral cooperation agreement. I should add that Poland was not yet a full member of the organization at the time, and when we signed the documents, we hoped it wouldn't just be an agreement that ends up in a drawer, but that we'd actually manage to build something serious on that foundation. And indeed, in 2019, together at the Nencki Institute we created the international research agenda BrainCity, with EMBL as our strategic partner," says Prof. Agnieszka Dobrzyń, Director of the Nencki Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences. (We encourage you to watch the video included with the press materials.)

That same year, 2019, Poland joined EMBL as a full member. In 2025, Prof. Andrzej Szeptycki, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, entrusted the Nencki Institute with a special mission to deepen the integration of the Polish scientific community with EMBL. This is the EMERALD project.

The September meeting was held precisely within this framework. We would like to thank everyone involved in organizing the event, especially Prof. Leszek Kaczmarek and Prof. Aleksandra Pękowska, as well as the speakers, poster presenters, and all our guests. These were truly two exceptional days — full of conversations, new ideas, and encounters that we hope will mark the beginning of further joint initiatives.

"The main goal of everything we're doing together here is for EMBL to establish a site in our country. I believe Poland is now ready to permanently host one of EMBL's institutes," emphasizes Prof. Agnieszka Dobrzyń.

EMBL operates six specialized research sites. The main headquarters of this intergovernmental organization is in Heidelberg, home mainly to its service laboratories. The other locations specialize in areas including bioinformatics and computational biology (EMBL-EBI in Hinxton, UK), structural biology (Hamburg and Grenoble), neuroscience and epigenetics (Rome), and tissue biology and imaging (Barcelona).