The GBC team. Left to right: Philippe Sanseau, Tracey Mahoney, David Carr, Guy Cochrane.
Photo Credit: Jeff Dowling
A multiyear grant will support the Global Biodata Coalition (GBC) as it expands its leadership and confirms EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) as its host organisation.
About:
- The EC grants €5 million of Horizon Europe funding to boost efforts to develop sustainable solutions for the future of global biodata
- GBC leadership team expands as ex Senior Director of Computational Biology at GlaxoSmithKline, Philippe Sanseau, joins as Executive Head, and EMBL-EBI becomes its host organisation
- Expanded funding and strengthened leadership reflect increasing international recognition of the critical role of biodata in enabling research and innovation at a time of uncertainty for open biodata resources
Tuesday, March 3 – Hinxton, UK
Today we announce that the European Commission (EC) is granting the Global Biodata Coalition €5 million over five years to strengthen international efforts to secure sustainable biodata infrastructure.
The EC funding represents a major commitment to the future of open data resources. The grant is part of the 2025 Health Research Work Programme under Horizon Europe, the EU’s largest funding programme for collaborative research and innovation to date.
By providing access to a vast array of scientific data, open access databases across the globe are essential for fostering innovative research and enabling groundbreaking discoveries.
At a time of global funding uncertainty for these initiatives, the EC’s commitment reflects growing international recognition of the vital role of biodata resources in powering the future of research.
Expanded leadership accelerates efforts
In tandem, ex Senior Director of Computational Biology at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Philippe Sanseau, joins the team as Executive Head at the end of March. Our current Executive Director Guy Cochrane steps into the full-time role of Scientific Head, marking a significant increase in leadership capacity.
Sanseau brings with him more than 30 years of leadership experience with industry giant GSK – in roles spanning computational biology, governance, drug discovery and partnerships across industry and academia.
On joining the GBC secretariat, Sanseau said: “Throughout my career I’ve seen firsthand the critical impact of open data on biomedical research and beyond. I feel extremely privileged to join the GBC as Executive Head, helping deliver the Coalition’s mission and drive the next stage of development. I look forward to working with partners, stakeholders and my new GBC colleagues.”
David Carr, with the GBC team since 2021, also steps up to become Programme Manager, while Tracey Mahoney from EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) joins us as Events Manager and Administrator. Further staffing is planned for 2026.
New host organisation
We also confirm EMBL-EBI as GBC’s new host organisation, placing our secretariat side-by-side with world leading biodata resources at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton, Cambridgeshire.
Jo McEntyre, Interim Director of EMBL-EBI said: “The goal of the Global Biodata Coalition is to catalyse the development of mechanisms to sustainably support critical biodata resources.
“The GBC provides a forum for life science research funders and biodata resource managers to explore how this may be achieved globally. This shift is essential for futureproofing global science and enabling discovery. EMBL-EBI is delighted to host the GBC and continue supporting its mission.”
Previously GBC has been hosted by the Human Frontier Science Programme Organisation (HFSPO), an international program of funding for frontier research in the life sciences, which has played a key role in enabling the Coalition to grow to where it is today.
Landmark moments with the HFSPO have included: a seminal meeting of stakeholders in 2016; the launch of GBC’s scientific programme in 2020; establishing the first set of Global Core Biodata Resources in 2022; and the appointment of the Coalition’s first Executive Director, Guy Cochrane.
Looking to the future
The leadership expansion and increased funding reflects growing recognition that global collaboration is essential to sustain biodata resources and secure the future of research and innovation.
Guy Cochrane, Scientific Head of GBC added:
“We’re delighted to receive the support of the EC. The Commission’s experience in the biodata infrastructure domain, along with the funding contribution, will play a significant role in enabling GBC to achieve its goals as we expand our team and strengthen our leadership in 2026, at a time when ensuring sustainable funding has never been more pertinent.”
Open access databases are key for powering new research and discoveries. Almost a million scholarly articles from around the world reference at least one dataset from a GBC Global Core Biodata Resource.
To reach its goal of securing long-term sustainability for biodata infrastructure, GBC will continue to need the support of new and existing members as the volume, breadth and importance of global biodata expand.
If you would like to support the development of sustainable solutions for vital biodata resources, please add your signature to our open letter.