Australian health research infrastructures take centre stage in Europe
A delegation representing Australian health research infrastructures recently concluded a series of strategic meetings in Europe. Australian BioCommons, Bioplatforms Australia and the NCRIS Health Group strengthened global ties and shared insights into shared national priorities with a range of strategic counterparts.
The centerpiece of the trip was attendance at the Australian and European Health and Life Sciences Research Infrastructure Symposium in Prato, Italy. Through a series of facilitated sessions, participants discussed key themes including AI in health and life sciences, workforce development, and the role of research infrastructures as strategic national assets. Set against the backdrop of evolving research policies in both continents, including preparations for the EU’s Framework Programme 10 and the next Australia National Research Infrastructure roadmap, these discussions will help shape a joint position on the value of structured international collaboration and the targeted investment required, and hopefully influence future roadmaps.
Attendees of the Australian and European Health and Life Sciences Research Infrastructure Symposium in Prato, Italy
Building on these high-level strategic discussions, a series of targeted visits demonstrated how these key themes are being put into practice at world-leading institutions. At EMBL Barcelona, Head Dr James Sharpe welcomed the delegation to explore the cutting-edge imaging and microfabrication facilities. Discussions continued at EMBL-EBI, led by Interim Director Jo McEntyre, and focusing on AI implementation, data archiving and spatial omics, setting the stage for her upcoming visit to Australia in November to continue these collaborative talks.
EMBL Barcelona and EMBL-European Bionformatics Institute showcased their facilities, projects and perspectives. In the United Kingdom, the team met with leaders of the Darwin Tree of Life project at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. These meetings were helpful in aligning the BioCommons’ Australian Tree of Life project with its international peer, and for holding further discussions around the integration of AI into the scientific process across the domains of data access and training. Finally, there was an opportunity to connect and share insights with the newly formed BioFAIR UK, a like-minded organisation set up to address similar challenges in building a national data, methods and people ‘commons’.
The group included Australian BioCommons Director, Dr Jeff Christiansen, and A/Director, BioCloud, Dr Steven Manos, who joined leaders from Bioplatforms Australia, EMBL Australia, Phenomics Australia, the National Imaging Facility, Microscopy Australia, the Population Health Research Network and Therapeutic Innovation. Reflecting on the visit, Dr Jeff Christiansen said, “It was valuable to have time to reflect on areas of mutual interest, including the application of AI in the life sciences and the critical role that high-quality data plays in underpinning AI approaches. Hearing about new developments at EMBL-EBI to support the long-term preservation of spatial omics data – an exciting intersection of imaging and omics – was particularly informative.”
Fostering an integrated global research ecosystem will ultimately benefit the Australian research community, with opportunities for collaboration around shared priorities.
For another perspective, see the article written by EMBL Australia about the trip.
