News — Braga (Portugal) and Eau Claire, Wis. (USA)
The (MIRRI-ERIC), and the (USCCN), announced today the signature of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen, promote and enhance their cooperation to support research and innovation in biotechnology, life sciences and microbial resources utilization.
MIRRI is the pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure, formally recognized by the European Commission, dedicated to the preservation, systematic investigation, provision and valorization of microbial resources and biodiversity. USCCN is a U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Research Coordination Network that supports and promotes the safe and responsible utilization of microbial resources.
Under the newly signed MoU, MIRRI and USCCN agree to establish and implement cooperation in three main areas: organize common events and align their communications on topics of common interests; share information on the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to preserve and maintain microbial culture collections; and grant each other access to their respective databases and registries.
Foreseen activities include the joint publication of policy briefs, the organization of networking events, the exchange of information and expertise on SOPs, and the development of catalogues under common standards and FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse of digital assets).
The Executive Director of MIRRI, Luís Soares, said “MIRRI and USCCN are forefront players in the global landscape of microbial culture collections. For us, in the EU, it makes perfect sense to sign the MoU and join forces with our colleagues in the U.S., so we can work together on our common goals of fostering the valorization of microbial resources and innovation in biotechnology and life sciences.”
“This collaboration is an exciting opportunity for USCCN to foster alliances and collaborations with international collection communities, which is one of the main goals of our research coordination network,” said Dusti Gallagher, USCCN Project Manager. “We look forward to working with MIRRI to explore commonalities in our efforts to strengthen and grow the global microbial collections community.”
About MIRRI
The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure – European Research Infrastructure Consortium (MIRRI-ERIC) is the pan-European distributed Research Infrastructure for the preservation, systematic investigation, provision and valorisation of microbial resources and biodiversity. It brings together ~50 microbial domain Biological Resource Centres (mBRCs), culture collections and research institutes. MIRRI serves the bioscience and the bioindustry communities by facilitating the access, through a single point, to the broadest range of high-quality microorganisms, their derivatives, associated data and services, with a special focus on the domains of Health & Food, Agro-Food, and Environment & Energy. For more information, please visit and .
About USCCN
The United States Culture Collection Network (USCCN) is a Research Coordination Network supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation through grants #1534564 and #2124633. The mission of the USCCN is to facilitate the safe and responsible utilization of microbial resources for research, education, industry, medicine, and agriculture for the betterment of humankind. For more information visit and follow the network on and .
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