ELIXIR has published its new Scientific Programme, setting out the European life science data infrastructure’s vision for the coming five years. The Scientific Programme forms ELIXIR’s strategy and sets out its ambitions and goals until 2028. The ELIXIR Programme is developed with extensive input from expert working groups across ELIXIR’s 22 Nodes.
The 2024-28 Scientific Programme outlines how ELIXIR will achieve its purpose of working together to accelerate the understanding of life. ELIXIR’s new strategic priorities recognise the importance of not only scientific and technological investments, but also building capacity in ELIXIR Nodes and developing ELIXIR people. ELIXIR’s four strategic priorities for 2024-28 are:
Science: Enable scientists to access and analyse life science data
Technology: Deliver services to support federated data management and analytics in life science
Nodes: Equip national Nodes for successful long-term operations
People: Develop people and capacity to benefit science and society
Over the coming five years, ELIXIR will continue to support cellular and molecular research along with human data and translational research. In addition, a new scientific theme will be prioritised - biodiversity, food security and pathogens - which builds on ELIXIR’s existing expertise and addresses urgent challenges faced by society.
Scientific themes in the 2024-28 Scientific Programme:
- Cellular and molecular research
- Biodiversity, food security and pathogens
- Human data and translational research
The Programme will be implemented by a new tranche of internal projects, known as Commissioned Services, starting in 2024 and connecting experts across ELIXIR Nodes.
Niklas Blomberg, ELIXIR’s outgoing Director, said, “Large scale data generation has transformed life science research. To make full use of these data for artificial intelligence and other advanced modelling techniques, researchers need to assemble Europe-wide data from a range of research disciplines. They also need easy access to high-end computers for efficient calculations. ELIXIR is all about enabling the access and analysis of data, and the overriding ambition of the new Scientific Programme is to support scientists to achieve this across Europe and across life science.”