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A New Building for the IMB
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On
june 11th (2008) the contract for the construction of a new building
for the Instituto de Microbiología Bioquímica (IMB)
was granted to the firm Collosa S.A. The beguinning of the construction
was approved and signed on august 12th . It is planned that the
building will be finished within a 24 months period.
The IMB is a research institute dependent on the Spanish Scientific
Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas,
CSIC) and the University of Salamanca. This project has been possible
thanks to the approval in the General National Budget for 2006 of
9.1 million euros, to be received by the CSIC through the Ministry
of Education and Science. The other key factor has been the donation
of a plot, next to the Miguel de Unamuno Campus, by City Council
of Salamanca to the University.
The IMB
was founded by Professor Julio R. Villanueva in the seventies as
one of the first joint institutes between the Spanish University
and the CSIC, and it was granted officialdom in 1985 with the signing
of a specific agreement between the CSIC and the University of Salamanca.
The IMB has always been located, both physically and functionally,
at the Department of Microbiology and Genetics and thanks to the
project now approved it will be able to have its own building, foreseen
to start operating
towards the end of 2010.
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The project
for the new Institute considers the construction of a four-floor
building with an approximate total surface area of 6,500 square
metres, housing 30 research laboratories. This will allow a significant
increase in the number of teams currently working in the IMB and
the development of new research lines.
The Institute will have all the equipment necessary for research
projects in cellular and molecular biology, and it will have direct
access to all the services and infrastructures of the University
located on-campus.
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Most
of the current research lines
at the IMB use microorganisms as model systems for the study of
morphogenesis, transduction, gene regulation, epigenetics and
DNA replication. The main organisms used are the yeasts Saccharomyces
cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and to
a minor extent Streptomyces, Candida and Aspergillus.
Some groups use animal cells and mouse models for regulation and
developmental studies.
The Strategic Plan for the next few years, recently approved by
the CSIC after a positive assessment by an independent commission
of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), foresees
the expansion of some of the current research lines and the development
of new ones in the following areas:
-
Microorganisms as model systems for the study of gene regulation.
- Bioinformatics and microbial Systems Biology.
- Microbial Biotechnology
- Genome stability and dynamics in yeasts and
mammalian cells.
- Epigenetic regulation in yeasts and mammalian
cells.
The
new Institute intends to incorporate new scientific staff able
to develop research projects in some of these fields. Applications
are open to candidates within the following proffessional profiles:
- Researchers
in the initial stages of their scientific careers (pre-doctoral
and postdoctoral)
who wish to join one of the existing or future teams.
- Postdoctoral researchers under non-permanent
contract able to carry out
independent research.
- More senior and established scientists who
wish to move their own teams to the
new Institute.
All
applications will be considered and approval will be based on
a favourable assessment by the Internal and External Scientific
Committees of the Institute. Those interested may address their
applications to the Director of the Institute (directorimb@usal.es)
or contact team leaders at the IMB close to their own scientific
interests for further information.
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