EU initiative for Ukraine science in Europe

In the new arena of biomolecular electronics, which is central in a wide range of applications (from computing to medicine), the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics (IMBG) of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) has been playing the leading role in the country. Two years ago, an EU-funded twinning effort was launched to tap the institute’s potential to advance on the European level as well.

Since 2020, the BIONANOSENS project has brought together Ukrainian researchers with partners in France (Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and Lyon Ingénierie Projets), Austria (Zentrum für Soziale Innovation) and Germany (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf).

These four high-profile research and innovation institutes have been working to pave the way for the IMBG into European research networks and to position it as an international centre of excellence in analytical biotechnology on the European research map. To achieve this, the BIONANOSENS consortium, which is led by the IMBG, has designed and implemented tailor-made twinning actions to deepen collaboration on novel biomolecular electronics based on smart nanomaterials.Project priorities include establishing institutional grant management procedures at the IMBG and to open access to international networks, build up knowledge in project proposal writing skills, promote and train young researchers, and support the IMBG in disseminating and exploiting its research results.

The IMBG is Ukraine’s leading institution in life sciences research and one of its primary goals is to develop market-driven innovations. It boasts a high-level programme in analytical biotechnologies, a field that uses cutting-edge technologies to drive biological macromolecules as supersensitive receptors and signal transducers for a variety of analysing applications.

Represented by scientific departments and laboratories, the institute''s world-class scientists have benefited from the twinning actions, particularly in areas ranging from proposal writing and grant management to networking and mentoring of young scientists. It has one of the highest levels of research potential in Ukraine, counting more than 200 researchers including many prominent scientists.

According to the project leaflet, IMBG funding comes from NASU and about half of the funding comes from winning projects in national and international competitions.

Within the BIONANOSENS (Deeping collaboration on novel biomolecular electronics based on “smart” nanomaterials) project, the focus has been on the development of novel biomolecular electronics for analytical bionanotechnology. Through the project, the IMBG launched a call in 2021 for start-ups on biomolecular electronics, the winners of which will participate in the institute’s 2022 summer school on smart devices and their applications. The project runs until September 2023.

For more information, please see:

BIONANOSENS project website