European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

EMBL is an inter-governmental organisation currently led by the Director General, Prof. Iain Mattaj, appointed by the EMBL Council. The Council is composed of all 20 Member States one associate member state of the Laboratory. Each Member State is represented by up to two delegates, who may be accompanied by advisers. Associate member states have observer status on the EMBL Council and are represented by up to two delegates. EMBL Hamburg is situated in one of the most beautiful areas of the Hanseatic city of Hamburg in the Northern part of Germany. Hamburg is centred around its harbour, which has a long tradition of oversea trade, and offers a wide variety of cultural activities. In the close vicinity of EMBL, there are diverse neighbourhoods ranging from residential, wealthy suburbs like Blankenese, to areas with a lot of students, entertainment and a multicultural ambience like St. Pauli, Altona and Ottensen. EMBL Hamburg is located on the site of DESY (German Synchrotron Research Centre) that provides synchrotron radiation (SR) through its DORIS positron storage ring. This radiation is used to study the structure and function of proteins using state-of-the-art equipment and methods. EMBL Hamburg operates six SR beam lines, five of which are dedicated to biocrystallography and one to small angle scattering of biological samples.