News

Participation in the EU call INFRASTRUCTURE 2012.1.1.5

EATRIS wants to forward the process of integration and to accelerate the building of European translational research infrastructure
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A leap forward in the effectiveness of biomedical research - for better patient outcomes

EATRIS marks official start to developing Europe’s translational research of the future
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FAQ - Organisation

Who initiated EATRIS?

EATRIS was initiated by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure (ESFRI). ESFRI brings together representatives of EU member states and associated countries, appointed by ministers in charge of research, and a representative of the European Commission. The challenge of ESFRI was to identify and to address the scientific needs of research infrastructures in Europe for the next 10-20 years covering all scientific areas. In October 2006 ESFRI published its first "European Roadmap on Research Infrastructures". EATRIS was identified as one of six prioritised infrastructures in Lifescience that fulfilled the ESFRI Roadmap’s requirements.
 

How is EATRIS funded?

During its Preparatory Phase (2008-2010) EATRIS is funded by the EU’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7). FP7 bundles all research-related EU initiatives together under a common roof in order to make Europe the “most dynamic competitive knowledge-based economy in the world" (European Union's Lisbon Strategy). Later, during its Implementation Phase (2011-2015), national resources and funding agencies will provide a sustainable budget for building and operating EATRIS. However, additional funding will also be sought from European and private sources.
 

When will EATRIS be open for users?

Currently, EATRIS is still in the Preparatory Phase. At the end of 2010 it will enter the Implementation Phase (2011-2015) during which the different EATRIS Translation Centres will initiate the first user projects to phase in the operation and gradually expand their capacities, leading to the establishment of full coverage of the necessary technological facilities.
By 2016, EATRIS will be fully operational and offer support on a regular basis. It will be an innovation core for new diagnostics and therapies, open to researchers and industry.
 

What other biomedical infrastructure projects exist?

In addition to EATRIS, a further five Biological and Medical Science (BMS) infrastructures belong to the first ESFRI Roadmap in 2006.

  • BBMRI - European Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure
  • ECRIN - European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network
  • ELIXIR - European Life Sciences Infrastructure for Biological Information
  • INFRAFRONTIER - The European Infrastructure for Phenotyping and Archiving of Model Mammalian Genomes
  • INSTRUCT - Integrated Structural Biology Infrastructure for Europe

In an update of the ESFRI Roadmap in 2008, an additional four BMS infrastructures had been added:

  • EU-OpenScreen – European Infrastructure of Open Screening Platforms for Chemical Biology
  • Euro-BioImaging – European Biomedical Imaging Infrastructure
  • European High Security BLS-4 Laboratory
  • EMBRC – European Marine Biological Resource Centre

All BMS research infrastructures complement each other and share information in order to enable an efficient implementation of a research infrastructure for the biological and medical sciences in Europe. EATRIS will cooperate with the other BMS initiatives by creating interfaces and exchanging already existing infrastructure and expertise to generate added value, avoid duplication and improve efficacy and professionalism.