Photo: Kaspars Tars (LBMC) with Prof. Harald Schwalbe (Instruct-ERIC Director)
Latvia has been a member of Instruct since 2019, and in that time has participated in several services and events, including access visits, internships, and at the Instruct Biennial Structural Biology Conference.
Harald Schwalbe, Instruct-ERIC Director, commented: “Instruct is proud and happy that we now have a research site in Latvia. Holding the Latvian flag side-to-side with our Instruct flag was a special moment for me. Personally, I have known the colleagues in Latvia for a long time. Their special focus of structural biology at the interface of chemical biology and organic chemistry will provide new impetus for the long-term development of Instruct.”
The research site aims to coordinate training events for structural biology researchers in Latvia and beyond, in conjunction with Instruct’s annual training programme. In addition it can be the central hub for national research collaboration, with activities such as annual national meetings.
The first Instruct-LV meeting took place in December 2024, bringing together expert research teams in structural biology across Latvia, with guest speakers from Instruct, Instruct-Finland, and Instruct-Lithuania. Symposia such as these are now planned more regularly, to provide a platform for structural biology collaboration across the country, and in the wider region.
Presentation of Instruct-Latvia Membership certificate at 2024 Annual Meeting
An Instruct-ERIC Research Site can be an individual facility or organisation, or a consortium of organisations within a country that can offer a centralised national hub. Separate to Instruct centres/facilities, research sites do not offer access to research equipment/technologies – however it is in the pipeline of a country or organisation becoming an Instruct centre of excellence.
Find out more about Instruct-ERIC Research Sites here, and contact to find out how they are established.
Photo and text: https://instruct-eric.org/news/latvia-becomes-an-instruct-eric-research-site/