INSTRUCT-ERIC

Their core work

INSTRUCT-ERIC is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium that provides coordinated access to structural biology facilities — including NMR, electron microscopy, and X-ray crystallography — for researchers across Europe and beyond. They enable scientists to determine protein structures, which is foundational for drug discovery, vaccine development, and understanding biological processes. As an ERIC, they serve as an umbrella organization connecting national structural biology centers into a single access point, reducing barriers for researchers who need advanced instrumentation they cannot maintain locally.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

INSTRUCT-ERIC's early H2020 engagement (2019) centered on ERIC governance, EOSC cloud integration, and establishing its identity as a pan-European biological research infrastructure — essentially building the organizational and digital backbone. By the second half, their focus shifted toward applied domains: structural biology for drug discovery and translational research (iNEXT-Discovery), vaccine infrastructure (TRANSVAC-DS), and international outreach beyond Europe (EU-LAC ResInfra). The trajectory shows a maturing infrastructure moving from internal consolidation toward real-world health applications and global partnerships.

INSTRUCT-ERIC is evolving from a pure infrastructure provider toward enabling translational research in drug discovery and vaccine development, making them increasingly relevant for health-sector collaborations.

How they like to work

INSTRUCT-ERIC operates predominantly as a participant (6 of 7 projects), which is typical for an ERIC — they contribute infrastructure expertise and access to facilities rather than leading research agendas. Their one coordinated project (RI-VIS) focused on making research infrastructures more visible to industry, reflecting their connector role. With 211 unique partners across 35 countries, they are a high-connectivity hub embedded in the largest European research infrastructure consortia.

Exceptionally broad network of 211 unique partners spanning 35 countries, driven by participation in large-scale infrastructure projects like EOSC-Life and EOSC Future. Their reach extends beyond Europe through the EU-LAC ResInfra project connecting with Latin American research institutions.

What sets them apart

INSTRUCT-ERIC occupies a rare position as the dedicated ERIC for integrated structural biology — there is no other single-access-point organization in Europe that coordinates NMR, electron microscopy, and crystallography facilities at this scale. Their dual involvement in both EOSC cloud infrastructure and hands-on structural biology access means they bridge the gap between digital data services and physical laboratory instrumentation. For consortium builders, they bring not just equipment access but an established governance framework and a 35-country partner network that can accelerate proposal credibility.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EOSC-Life
  Largest funding (EUR 979K) — positioned INSTRUCT-ERIC at the center of Europe's open science cloud for biological and medical research data.
• RI-VIS
  Only project coordinated by INSTRUCT-ERIC, focused on connecting research infrastructures with industry and third countries — reveals their strategic ambition.
• iNEXT-Discovery
  Directly showcases their core structural biology mission — transnational access to NMR, EM, and crystallography for drug discovery and health applications.