The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Europe's foremost molecular-biology institution, is extending its reach to the north. As part of efforts to establish laboratory partnerships with Nordic countries, EMBL plans this year to set up a new laboratory in Umeå, a coastal city on the Gulf of Bothnia, 650 kilometres north of Stockholm. One of the hopes, says future laboratory director Bernt Eric Uhlin, is to build a sustainable national resource that will link Europe's Nordic countries to EMBL, which currently has five labs in Germany, France, Italy and Britain.

The lab will be part of the first EMBL partnership in molecular infectious medicine in the Nordic countries. Others will include the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, which specializes in genetic epidemiology, and the Centre for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience at the University of Oslo.

The goal is for Umeå to become a Swedish node in EMBL. The new funding will allow up to seven young researchers to be recruited internationally and to establish research groups, for the time being in existing buildings and departments.

The new laboratory will focus on molecular infectious medicine, drawing from 25 existing affiliated groups in microbiology, molecular biology, chemistry and physics that collaborate via the Umeå Centre for Microbial Research. Known as one of the best places to study bacterial pathogenesis in Europe, the centre has expertise in infection biology and molecular microbiology, says Uhlin. “The new groups should thrive in this scientific environment,” he says.

The partnership gives scientists the chance to work for six to eight years “to develop their skills in an interesting environment and then go on to other universities”, says Lars Börjesson, secretary-general of the Swedish Research Council's Committee for Research Infrastructures.

It also stands to draw international attention to Sweden's biomedical research. “We think there should be more European exposure of Sweden's research,” says Börjesson, who hopes it will also stimulate Sweden's biomedical research community.

The Swedish government provided just under half of the funding, with the rest coming from Umeå University. The total invested in the project is €18.5 million (US$25 million). Most will be spent on staff, but some will be invested in shared technical platforms and equipment.