Research Sites provide training, outreach, or networking activities for Instruct users, members, and researchers. The Latvia research site is built up of the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre (LBMC) and Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis (LIOS), both based in Riga.
LBMC is the leading scientific institute in Latvia in molecular biology and biomedicine, while LIOS is a leading centre in medicinal chemistry, organic synthesis, preclinical pharmaceutical development and biophysical studies.
Kaspars Tars, Senior Researcher at the LBMC, commented: “Currently, the main function of our Research Site will be providing training for local structural biologists. However, in future we intend to organise training for external researchers and to then provide access to more specialised services of interest to other countries, such as screening of compound libraries and synthesis of lead compounds.”
Latvia has been a member of Instruct since 2019, and in that time has participated in several services and events, including access visits, internships, and at the Instruct Biennial Structural Biology Conference.
Harald Schwalbe, Instruct-ERIC Director, commented: “Instruct is proud and happy that we now have a research site in Latvia. Holding the Latvian flag side-to-side with our Instruct flag was a special moment for me. Personally, I have known the colleagues in Latvia for a long time. Their special focus of structural biology at the interface of chemical biology and organic chemistry will provide new impetus for the long-term development of Instruct.”
The research site aims to coordinate training events for structural biology researchers in Latvia and beyond, in conjunction with Instruct’s annual training programme. In addition it can be the central hub for national research collaboration, with activities such as annual national meetings.
The first Instruct-LV meeting took place in December 2024, bringing together expert research teams in structural biology across Latvia, with guest speakers from Instruct, Instruct-Finland, and Instruct-Lithuania. Symposia such as these are now planned more regularly, to provide a platform for structural biology collaboration across the country, and in the wider region.
