This week's highlights
Reminder: ELIXIR All Hands 2025 call for workshops
Deadline: 20 January 2025
ELIXIR All Hands 2025 will be held on 2 - 5 June 2025 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The aim of workshops is to build connections between different areas of ELIXIR, encourage groups to participate and engage with the work.
All Hands 2025
Workshop submission link
Brisbane Statement on a collaborative global research infrastructure ecosystem to address global challenges
The Brisbane Statement arises from the 2024 International Conference on Research Infrastructures (ICRI 2024). It encourages all RI stakeholders to actively consider the role of RIs in addressing global challenges, and how strengthening international RI collaborations can help solve them.
Read the statement
Watch the recordings of ICRI2024 talks
Recommended reads
The interplay of DNA repair context with target sequence predictably biases Cas9-generated mutations
An ELIXIR Estonia paper
Repair of double-stranded breaks generated by CRISPR/Cas9 is highly dependent on the flanking DNA sequence. To learn about interactions between DNA repair and target sequence, the authors measure frequencies of over 236,000 distinct Cas9-generated mutational outcomes at over 2800 synthetic target sequences in 18 DNA repair deficient mouse embryonic stem cells lines. Using the dataset, the authors build predictive models of the mutagenic outcomes of Cas9 scission that outperform the current standards. This work improves our understanding of DNA repair gene function, and provides avenues for more precise modulation of Cas9-generated mutations.
Read more
Analyzing sex imbalance in EGA and dbGaP biological databases: Recommendations for better practices
A BioHackathon Europe paper
Precision medicine aims to tailor treatments to individual patients' characteristics. Recognising the significance of sex and gender becomes indispensable for meeting the distinct healthcare needs of diverse populations. The authors analysed sex classification imbalance in human data from EGA and the U.S. counterpart, the database of genotypes and phenotypes (dbGaP). The findings show a significant decrease in samples classified as unknown in EGA, potentially promoting better sex reporting during data collection. Based on the findings, the authors raise awareness of sample imbalance problems and provide a list of recommendations for enhancing biomedical research practices.
Read more
Updates from Nodes
The ComPatAI consortium uses large datasets to create an AI learning model for pathology
The ComPatAI consortium focuses on analysing histological samples related to breast and prostate cancer. Using digitalised images allows the researchers to measure and automatically compute different cell types.
Read the news
Training in artificial intelligence and machine learning in the life sciences
19 - 23 May 2025 | Savoie, France
The IFB (ELIXIR France) is organising a training course focusing on AI approaches, regulations, and standards for applying them to life science data. Trainers from the ELIXIR French, Belgian, Swiss, and Greek nodes will enrich the program with their expertise.
More information and application
Updates from Communities
3D BioInfo Community webinar: Infrastructure and functional annotations
20 January 2025 | 17:00 - 18:00 CET | Online
In this webinar, Professor David Jones from University College London will talk about AlphaFold Protein Structure Database (AFDB) and how researchers use deep learning methods to detect and classify every domain in the AFDB.
More information and registration
Updates from other initiatives
Video on Beacon and its use in IMPaCT
The European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA) published a video about Beacon and its use in a project called IMPaCT, which uses GA4GH Beacon v2 API so that professionals can search for specific cases from other biomedical centres in Spain, all without compromising patient privacy.
Watch the video
Report on outcomes of EOSC DG SANTE Round Table
On 08 October 2024, EOSC-A and the ECs Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) held a successful in-person roundtable in Brussels to explore collaboration opportunities between the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and EOSC. The objective of the event was to understand the complementarities, overlaps and gaps of EHDS and EOSC in the secondary use of health data.
Read the report
Upcoming ELIXIR events & webinars
ELIXIR Training Courses & Webinars
The ELIXIR TeSS portal has a variety of interesting events and courses organised by the ELIXIR Nodes. For more, visit TeSS portal
SIB course: First steps with R in life sciences
3 - 4 February 2025 | Basel. Switzerland
de.NBI training course: Training clinic
14 February 2025 | Online
de.NBI training course: Maximising the potential of microbial research data - strategies for effective management & utilization
18 February 2025 | Online
de.NBI training course: Transforming microbial research data management with Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs)
20 February 2025 | Online
SIB course: Long-read sequence analysis
27 - 28 February 2025 | Bern, Switzerland
SIB course: Multiomics data analysis and integration
6-7 March 2025 | Geneva, Switzerland
SIB course: First steps with Python in life sciences
11-13 March 2025 | Lausanne, Switzerland
EMBL-EBI course: Microscopy data analysis: machine learning and the BioImage Archive
31 March - 4 April 2025 | Online
EMBL-EBI course: Cancer genomics and transcriptomics
12 - 16 May 2025 | Online
EMBL-EBI course: Introduction to metabolomics analysis
20 - 23 May 2025 | EMBL-EBI, UK
ELIXIR Events and Conferences
ELIXIR 3D BioInfo Community F2F/hybrid meeting
19-21 March 2025 | Hybrid - Barcelona, Spain
ELIXIR Microbiome Community F2F/hybrid meeting
09-10 April 2025 | Hybrid - Barcelona, Spain
ELIXIR Biodiversity Community F2F/hybrid meeting
10-11 April 2025 | Hybrid - Barcelona, Spain
ELIXIR All Hands 2025
2-5 June 2025 | Thessaloniki, Greece
Job vacancies
All vacancies are also published on the ELIXIR website (also including those from industry). If you need our help communicating your new open positions, you can submit a job advertisement and it will automatically appear on our newsletters. Go to our vacancy page to submit a job