The Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) is based in Heraklion (Crete), and is conducting basic and applied research in established and emerging areas of Biomedical science. IMBB was founded in 1983 and is part of the Foundation of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), one of the largest research centers in Greece. Research at IMBB is diverse and falls into the following areas: Gene Regulation, Developmental Genetics, Neurosciences, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Immunity, Protein Function and Structural Biology.
Our multidisciplinary research is supported by state-of-the-art experimental facilities and is enhanced by extensive collaborations and interactions with the other co-located Institutes of FORTH that conduct research in physical, computing and mathematical sciences. Additional scientific interactions and collaborations have been established with many departments at the University of Crete, as well as the broader academic and research community in Greece and the rest of Europe. Our multidisciplinary approaches and collaborative environment is ideal for training of undergraduate and PhD students and for postdoctoral researchers.

News

	Work from IMBB has uncovered a role for bHLH-O (a.k.a. Hes) proteins Dpn and E(spl) in neural stem cell maintenance in Drosophila. By exerting an anti-differentiation activity they ensure long-term proliferation, which is needed to produce the myriad of neural cells. However, aberrant cell signalling that leads to bHLH-O overexpression can cause pathological over-proliferation of neural stem cells. Zacharioudaki et al, Development 2012.
	IMBB researchers reveal similarities in the development of insect and vertebrate body segments. Sarrazin et al. show that a segmentation clock, analogous to the one found in vertebrates, underpins segmentation in insects.
	IMBB researchers uncover a novel molecular mechanism for Nucleotide Excision Repair during mammalian development. Kamileri et al reveal that key proteins in this pathway activate the transcription of genes involved in mammalian growth.
	IMBB researchers uncover a novel, unexpected molecular mechanism required for the degeneration of nerve cells. Troullinaki and Tavernarakis reveal that two processes normally essential for cell survival, endocytosis and intracellular trafficking, also contribute to necrotic cell death.
	The Economou lab in collaboration with the Kalodimos lab (Rutgers U.) reveal a novel regulatory mechanism in protein-protein interactions. Chen et al show that the interaction of a chaperone with its substrate is mediated by finely tuned structural instability and is coupled to molecular mimicry.
	IMBB researchers contribute to the unraveling of the molecular mechanism of Notch signalling. Daskalaki et al show that ubiquitylation of the Notch ligand Delta simultaneously triggers its endocytosis and its signalling activity.
	Development and Evolution lab publishes iTRAC, a method for exploiting gene-traps in established and emerging model organisms. Kontarakis et al demonstrate iTRAC in the crustacean Parhyale
	A novel mechanism of mitochondria biogenesis
	A novel mechanism regulating metabolism and ageing
	A novel mechanism that controls protein secretion
	The structural basis of the interaction of signal peptides with the translocase
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