EIROforum members are deeply saddened by the death of Peer Bork, joint Chair of EIROforum and EMBL’s Interim Director General.

It is with great sadness that EIROforum shares the announcement that EMBL Interim Director General and EIROforum Chair Professor Peer Bork passed away from natural causes on 16 January 2026. Alongside EMBL’s Interim Executive Director, Professor Ewan Birney, Peer Bork assumed the position of EIROforum Chair in July 2025. EMBL will continue working towards the goals of its EIROforum presidency, led by Ewan Birney. 

Professor Bork joined EMBL as visiting scientist in 1992, and has held different roles since then, including as Director of EMBL Heidelberg (2020-2025) and as Head of the Structural and Computational Biology Unit (2001-2021). His remarkable scientific contributions spanned computational biology, microbiomics and planetary biology. As a strong advocate for open science and international collaboration, Professor Bork shaped European life science through visionary leadership and a body of work that bridged disciplines and borders.

All EIROforum members extend our deepest condolences to Professor Peer Bork’s family, friends and colleagues at EMBL and beyond during this difficult time.