Introduction

The Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine, HCEMM, was established following a scientific strategy that took into account the existing research structure in Hungary. The HCEMM was created by the union of the University of Szeged, the Semmelweis University and the Biological Research Centre. They were joined by the National Research, Innovation and Development Office representing the Hungarian Government as project coordinator and by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) as advanced scientific institution. In order to be part of the HCEMM founders, the applying Hungarian molecular medicine research institutions were evaluated in terms of their international relevance and competitiveness. The HCEMM research strategy was designed in collaboration with scientific experts of the EMBL with the aim to embed its research into the current trends in molecular life sciences in Europe.

The HCEMM scientific strategy relies on three thematic pillars: immuno-inflammatory diseases, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, and genomic instability and cancer. These pillars are further organised into divisions. Importantly, there are three cross-cutting horizontal themes, i.e. disease in a dish, precision medicine, and units of translational research, which are interwoven with the thematic pillars. A matrix of advanced core facilities (ACFs) efficiently supports the high-quality research of the HCEMM institutes.