The Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology is a biomedical research institute under the auspices of and responsible directly to the Indonesian Minister for Research and Technology. It traces its origin to the Research Laboratory for Pathology and Bacteriology, founded in 1888 with Christiaan Eijkman as its first Director; the laboratory was designated the Eijkman Institute in 1938, but was closed in the 1960s. The current Eijkman Institute, operationally started in 1993 and formally inaugurated in 1995, is a molecular cell biology research institute, which in the first instance focuses on problems of human and medical genetics, infectious diseases of the tropics, and biomolecular engineering.

The Institute’s laboratories are located in the historical building of the Eijkman Institute in central Jakarta. The 5,500 sq.m. building has been completely restored and renovated, although the final refurbishment for the new institute is still being completed.

One of the staff was preparing the centrifugator

The Institute received a generous development fund from the Indonesian Government and supported by grants-in-aid from the strategic and pharmaceutical industries for its operation. It drew its initial scientific strength from a molecular genetic research group led by Professor Sangkot Marzuki, its first director. The Institute now has around 75 scientists, working in six major research programs.