Adriano Buzzati-Traverso, its first Director, conceived the new Laboratory based upon a vision of a then nascent exciting new discipline, Molecular Genetics; he had two fundamental and innovative intuitions: that genetical studies should be integrated with biochemistry and other life sciences, and that italian science should be carried out at an international level. The Laboratory was funded through a 5-year agreement between the CNR, the National Committee for Nuclear Research and the European Atomic Energy Community. Soon after, the Laboratory became one of the first institutes of the CNR and grew to become one of the most important research centers in molecular biology and genetics in Europe, as well as a meeting place for scientists all over the world. The Institute now belongs entirely to the CNR and is part of the Department of Biomedical Sciences (DSB) of the National Research Council. Over the years, the LIGB was renamed first as International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics (IIGB, in 1968) and formerly as Institute of Genetics and Biophysics Adriano Buzzati-Traverso in memory of its founder, who was celebrated during a ceremony attended by the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano, in 2010, at IGB.

In more than 50 years of existence, the IGB-ABT has made fundamental contributions to the development of Genetics and Molecular Biology and has represented a breeding ground for young and emerging researchers that have contributed to the progress of many other national and international Research Centers and University Institutes. Today, the  IGB represents an institution well-established in the city of Naples (How to reach us), where new generations of young people (undergraduate and PhD students) are continuously formed and approached enthusiastically to scientific research.