Instruct-ERIC International Collaboration

Instruct-ERIC has developed partnerships with biological research organisations all over the world.

Instruct has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with institutions to provide access to research equipment and technology. It provides training programmes and workshops rolled out to enhance understanding and expertise in other regions. Instruct also delivers events and symposia, providing networking and discussion opportunities across regions.

As a distributed research infrastructure, Instruct-ERIC provides peer-reviewed access to advanced technology within structural biology for researchers worldwide, and offers funding for access to its 17 members across Europe. In addition, Instruct offers a range of training courses, the R&D Pilot Award, and internship opportunities.

Through international collaborative projects, Instruct-ERIC has been able to offer these services to users from outside Europe, outlining the advantages of research infrastructures at trans-continental level.

International Projects

Instruct-ERIC and Latin America

MOU Signatures

Instruct-ERIC has enjoyed a long-standing partnership with Latin America. In 2016, Instruct signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo. The basis of this MOU was to provide first refusal on access and training opportunities for both institutions – helping to grow and enhance the partnership.

Instruct has since expanded its role in the region, having now signed MOUs with several other research organisations in Latin America. Most recently, Instruct signed an MOU with CNPEM in October 2022, taking the complete list to:

Argentina

Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata INIBIOLP (CONICET-UNLP)
Instituto de Químicay Fisicoquímica Biológicas (Universidad de Buenos Aires)
Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR)
Fundacion Instituto Leloir (FIL, Buenos Aires)
University of Buenos Aires (UBA)
University of San Martin (UNSAM)

Uruguay

Institute Pasteur (Montevideo)
University de la Republica (Montevideo)

Brazil

University of Sao Paulo (USP)
Brazilian Centre for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)

In addition to individual institutions, Instruct also has a signed MOU with Centro de Biologia Structural del Mercosur (CeBEM).

CeBEM is the leading structural biology research infrastructure in Latin America, comprised of 9 groups across Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Venezuela. Set out to achieve similar goals to Instruct, the collaboration between the two research infrastructures was seen as a crucial step towards increasing meaningful development between both regions.

Alongside CeBEM, Instruct has had a project approved as part of the 4th Joint EU-LAC Call for proposals. This project aims to advance capacity building in Latin America, enhance collaboration between the two regions through staff exchanges and training programmes, and to accelerate the development of regional hubs in Latin America.

International Call for Access

Instruct recently had its third International Call, providing access for researchers at any institution that holds an MOU with Instruct-ERIC. Find out more about the call here.

Instruct had previously held two International Access Calls, in partnership with EU-LAC ResInfra and also with the iNEXT-Discovery project. These have provided funding for researchers in institutions that hold an MOU with Instruct to travel and visit Instruct's European structural biology facilities. Find out more about the latest Instruct International Call awarded in 2022 here.

One of the projects that took place through the first Instruct International Call was from the University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil. A team led by Richard Garratt of the University travelled to Diamond Light Source (UK) and to CERM (Italy) for their work on septins. Take a look at the University of Sao Paulo Research Visit here.

Staff Exchanges

Instruct also set up several staff exchanges between Latin American and European institutions, in collaboration with the EU-LAC ResInfra project. The first of these featured Alejandro Buschiazzo of Institut Pasteur Montevideo visiting CNB-CSIC in Madrid throughout 2022. The second was Roberto Salinas of University Sao Paulo, who visited the Bijvoet Centre at Utrecht University. Find out more about their visits in the videos below!

International Symposia

Instruct-ERIC coordinated the Horizon2020 project, RI-VIS. The RI-VIS project promoted visibility of research infrastructures. A key part of RI-VIS was the Latin America – Europe Symposium on Research Infrastructures, which took place 15-17 June 2021. This virtual event brought together key stakeholders from across both regions, to discuss the best means to enhance collaboration.

RI-Hubs

Instruct-ERIC is also involved in the RI-Hubs project, coordinated by CNB-CSIC. The project aims to provide training, best practice and staff exchange between both Latin America and Europe. Find out more about the project here.

Instruct-ERIC and Africa

The RI-VIS project also held the Africa – Europe Symposium on Research Infrastructures 1-2 February 2021. The virtual event included talks and panel discussions, designed to promote the visibility of research infrastructures across both regions.

Instruct-ERIC has a signed MOU with the University of Cape Town (UCT, South Africa), providing access to technology and staff for structural biology projects, as well as training opportunities and presence at networking events to further establish the partnership throughout the region.

Open SESAME Project

SESAME is the first synchrotron light source in the Middle East, situated in Jordan and first opened in 2017. The aim of SESAME is to enhance scientific, technical, and economic development of the region, as a “user-facility”, providing open access to scientists from around the world.

During the construction and preparation of the synchrotron, it was understood that there would need to be a framework of technology, materials and expertise in place for the opening of SESAME.

Open SESAME is an EU-Funded project, providing sample preparation laboratories, as well as electron-microscopy and molecular biology facilities. Instruct delivered a training workshop for staff and technicians at SESAMEm ranging from protein expression and purification to crystallisation and automation practises, helping to provide the necessary expertise once the site was then opened.

Instruct and India

Instruct-ERIC is in preliminary talks with umbrella structural biology institutions in India, laying the foundations for potential future collaborations between the regions.

An Instruct-ERIC symposium, hosted by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), included talks and panel discussions between both European and Indian scientists, identifying ways in which researchers from India could partner with Instruct through training, collaborative research project and instrument access.

Instruct and Australia

The third and final RI-VIS symposium event in 2021 will be the Australia – Europe Symposium on Research Infrastructures, connecting researchers from around Australia with European scientists, determining how best to pursue cooperation and sustainability in the future.