MIMS History and Mission
MIMS was founded in 2007 at Umeå University in response to a national call from the Swedish Research Council to create a “Laboratory for Molecular Medicine” that was to be modelled on the European Laboratory for Molecular Medicine (EMBL) and become a node within a Nordic EMBL Partnership.
MIMS Group Leader Andrea Puhar (on the right) and Lalitha Tadala, postdoc in the Puhar group (on the left with her back).
The start of MIMS was a successful application by UCMR’s (Umeå Centre for Microbial Research) initial principal investigators and Umeå University. It resulted in a 77.5 MSEK grant over five years and the establishment of MIMS at Umeå University with a decision by vice-chancellor Göran Sandberg in 2007. Only a few months later, in October 2007, the first agreement for the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine was signed at EMBL in Heidelberg by the vice-chancellors of the Universities of Helsinki, Oslo, and Umeå*. The first MIMS group leaders had established their labs in 2009. (Excerpt from “10 years of MIMS celebration” article written by Eva-Maria Diehl, Project coordinator and Communications officer for MIMS and UCMR until 2019)
*: Aarhus University, hosting DANDRITE, the Danish node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership, joined in 2013, resulting in the second agreement.
MIMS group leaders use a broad range of genetic, biochemical, computational and cell biological methods to understand pathogenicity, immunity and antibiotic resistance. Important discoveries at MIMS span from Nobel-prize winning research into bacterial defence mechanisms (CRISPR/Cas9) to recent breakthroughs in understanding the biology underpinning antibiotic efficacy, or the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes for parasites and viruses. Other examples include important work on bacterial stress responses or on cell wall biochemistry.
Mission of MIMS
To perform excellent research in molecular infection medicine.
To recruit and foster the next generation of research leaders.
To foster interactions between Swedish researchers and the EMBL network.
"When people ask me what attracted me to Umeå, I reply that MIMS could offer me what I was looking for", said Emmanuelle Charpentier and described the MIMS environment as follows: "an innovative model for a new research institution; freedom of research; an understanding for risky projects and an understanding that more unconventional research projects need time and focus; respect for young students and scientists; a world-class scientific education for the junior scientists; an interactive and relaxed environment where scientific discussions are always a priority; and an enjoyable community of colleagues always ready to challenge novel scientific questions".
(Excerpt from “10 years of MIMS celebration” article written by Eva-Maria Diehl)
Latest update: 2023-07-26 Page editor: nora.lehotai@umu.se
Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine
Supporting organisations
