It co-funds courses, workshops and conferences, publishes five scientific journals and supports individual scientists.

As of 2022[update] the Director of EMBO is Fiona Watt, a stem cell researcher, professor at King's College London and a group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

[4][11] The initial goals of EMBO consisted of creating a central European laboratory for life sciences and increasing scientific interactions between researchers in Europe.

[11] At the Ravello meeting, Max Perutz was elected as the first EMBO chairman and John Kendrew as secretary general.

In 2011, EMBO established a Policy Programme which interacts with policymakers and provides analysis of concerns emerging from advances in scientific research.