The Center has been set up by the Finnish VTT Technical Research Centre and the Berkeley MolecularSciences Institute (MSI) and located in California. The opening keynote speech was given by Molecular Sciences Institute founder, nobel prize-winner (right) Dr. Sydney Brenner.

The aim of the research centre is to enable the quantitative prediction of the behaviour of biological systems. VTT as a member organisation of the new institute will provide its frontier knowhow on industrial biotechnology and technological needs for the basic molecular level research carried out at the institute. The aim of the centre is to have a positive effect on human health and well-being in addition to the bio-economy.

“The new center generates basic science which will strengthen VTT’s offering in the field of industrial biotechnology”, says Professor Erkki KM Leppävuori, President & CEO of VTT (left) “Industrial biotechnology is of high quality at VTT and in Finland. This new opportunity for collaboration is an important bridge between the Californian and European academic as well as industrial network”.


The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the largest multi-technological applied research organisation in Northern Europe creating new technology and science-based innovations in co-operation with domestic and foreign partners. VTT’s turnover is €290m and its personnel totals 3,100.

In biotechnology, VTT research focuses on sustainable chemistry and sustainable processing as well as biotechnologies and ICT for health and well-being. Research covers discovery and production of enzymes, development of new microbial strains and chemical reaction routes, discovery of drug targets and biomarkers, and analysis of the reaction mechanisms with advanced analytical methods, as well as development of process applications at laboratory and pilot scale.


The Molecular Sciences Institute MSI was founded by  Dr. Sydney Brenner as an independent, non-profit research institute. It has significantly influenced systems biology and synthetic biology. Renamed VTT/MSI Molecular Science Institute it specialises in understanding the quantitative behaviour of biological systems.