Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Crete

The research conducted at the IMBB places emphasis in the elucidation of basic life processes, in the decoding of the structure and the integrated function of genes in a given organism (genomics-postgenomics) and finally in the discovery of the mechanisms that control the development and function of an organism. The technologies that are developed in the Institute are directed towards the rational eradication of agricultural and human pests, development of tools such as transposable elements and siRNA for functional genomics, heterologous protein expression, the establishment of clinical-genomics interface, and finally the development of biosensors and biocomputing tools. Intellectual property is protected and this forms the basis for R&D collaborations with major international companies (Bayer, Pfitzer, and New England Biolabs) but also for the establishment of spin-off companies (MinosBiosystems).
 
The current but also the long-term research strategies at the IMBB are based on a number of fundamental principles. The first and most important is the quality of its researchers. Based on that principle the Director of the Institute, rather than directing research (which is a remedy for failure), puts its efforts to facilitate the independent work of individual researchers by providing the necessary logistic and infrastructure support as well as promoting the establishment of the proper scientific environment. This in turn facilitates the recruitment of new high quality researchers. The second principle is that given the fact that IMBB operates within a small country with limited resources to support research, excellence should be restricted to what we can realistically do best. This simply translates that one should strengthen what is already strong. A third principle is the establishment of organized facilities to assist researchers. Finally, given the power of knowledge and its applications, researchers are encouraged to exploit the results of their research and -at the same time- quality research is also directed towards technological innovations of high impact. The management of the IMBB provides legal assistance and industry links to facilitate such exploitation.