CONSORZIO INTERUNIVERSITARIO RISONANZE MAGNETICHE DI METALLO PROTEINE

Their core work

CIRMMP is an Italian inter-university consortium specializing in magnetic resonance techniques applied to metalloproteins and biological macromolecules. Based in Florence, they operate advanced NMR, electron microscopy, and X-ray infrastructure that serves as a European-level access point for structural biology research. Their core work involves providing transnational access to high-field NMR instrumentation, supporting drug discovery through protein structure determination, and contributing to Europe's open science cloud and e-infrastructure ecosystem. They bridge the gap between physical instrumentation and digital research infrastructure, making their facilities available to scientists across Europe.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015-2018), CIRMMP focused on establishing itself within life-science research infrastructure networks — structural biology, biomedicine, data management, and building virtual research environments like West-Life. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted in two directions: deepening structural biology access through successor projects (iNEXT-Discovery replacing iNEXT, PANACEA for solid-state NMR) and expanding into European Open Science Cloud services. The recent emergence of materials science and chemistry applications through PANACEA and HIRES-MULTIDYN marks a broadening beyond their traditional biomedical core.

CIRMMP is expanding from biological NMR into solid-state NMR for chemistry and materials, while simultaneously embedding its facilities within EOSC cloud platforms — positioning itself as a digitally connected, multi-domain NMR hub.

How they like to work

CIRMMP operates exclusively as a specialist partner, never coordinating projects but consistently joining large European consortia — their 287 unique partners across 41 countries confirm this pattern. They function as an infrastructure node that multiple networks plug into: structural biology consortia (iNEXT series, INSTRUCT-ULTRA), cloud computing consortia (EOSC-hub, EGI-ACE), and biomedical networks (CORBEL, SPIDIA4P). This makes them a reliable, well-connected facility partner rather than a project driver.

With 287 unique consortium partners across 41 countries, CIRMMP has one of the broadest collaboration networks for an organization of its size. Their reach spans virtually all EU member states and associated countries, reflecting the pan-European nature of research infrastructure projects they participate in.

What sets them apart

CIRMMP is one of very few European organizations dedicated entirely to magnetic resonance of metalloproteins, operating at the intersection of advanced instrumentation and open-access infrastructure. Their continuity across successive infrastructure generations (iNEXT → iNEXT-Discovery, EGI-Engage → EGI-ACE → EOSC) means they carry institutional memory and operational know-how that newer entrants lack. For consortium builders, they offer proven NMR facility access with established transnational access procedures and deep integration into both structural biology and EOSC ecosystems.

Highlights from their portfolio

• iNEXT
  Their largest funded project (EUR 740,696), providing transnational access to NMR, EM, and X-ray facilities for structural biology — the core of their mission.
• PANACEA
  Their most recent major project (EUR 623,250, running to 2026), representing a strategic expansion into solid-state NMR for chemistry beyond their traditional biology focus.
• HIRES-MULTIDYN
  A Research Excellence project (EUR 678,125) pushing ultrafast NMR relaxometry into drug discovery and materials science — their most scientifically ambitious work.