BioFAIR seeks to connect life science data currently stored at different institutions and repositories. By bridging the gap between researchers, institutional data repositories, and existing data infrastructures, the project hopes to accelerate discoveries and innovation.

The funding awarded by UKRI will be used to assemble and establish the core services for a data and analysis commons.

The concept of BioFAIR came from ELIXIR-UK, the UK Node of ELIXIR, a European project to integrate life sciences data across the continent with the aim of facilitating the linking of data worldwide.

The Earlham Institute acts as the coordinator for the UK ELIXIR node, with Director Professor Neil Hall as joint head of node alongside Professor Carole Goble from the University of Manchester.

The significant investment will help ELIXIR-UK to deliver its central mission – to enable the research community to better manage, share and analyse biological data.

Professor Neil Hall, Director of the Earlham Institute, said: “Biology is increasingly becoming a big data science. Life scientists generate large and complex data sets, which have huge potential to transform our understanding of life on Earth – but only if we can make sense of all the data….Read more