The Global Biodata Coalition’s strategy is set by our Board of Funders. Our Secretariat implements our programme and strategy and is led by our Executive Head and Scientific Head.
Philippe Sanseau
Executive Head
Dr. Philippe Sanseau, PhD, is the Executive Head of the Global Biodata Coalition. Philippe joined GBC in March 2026.
Philippe obtained his PhD in France at the University of Rennes 1 before starting a post doctoral position at Cancer Research UK. He then joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where he was most recently Senior Director.
During his long tenure at GSK, Philippe led different bioinformatics and computational biology teams across different countries with a focus on analysing genetics and genomics data to support drug discovery and development for multiple therapeutic areas. He has published extensively in scientific journals and he has been a member of multiple funding committees and scientific advisory boards at a national and international level. Philippe has also been a key player in establishing and growing large and successful public-private scientific partnerships such as Open Targets.
Guy Cochrane
Scientific Head
Dr. Guy Cochrane, PhD, is the Scientific Head of the Global Biodata Coalition and a faculty member of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), in Cambridge, England.
As GBC’s founding Executive Director from 2022 to 2025, he has driven such initiatives as the GBC White Paper on sustainability, the Global Inventory of biodata resources, and extensive usage and impact work to demonstrate the value of biodata resources.
Previously, Guy was Head of the European Nucleotide Archive at EMBL-EBI. With a background in developing and operating life science data resources, he is an Executive Committee member of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration. Guy’s contributions have included policy work around access and benefit sharing, open data advocacy, data standards and technology development, and leadership of the European COVID-19 Data Platform.
David Carr
Programme Manager
David Carr is the Programme Manager of the Global Biodata Coalition.
David has worked with the GBC since December 2021, where he has coordinated the selection process for Global Core Biodata Resources, managed the GCBR Forum and developed the GBC White paper on sustainability. David previously worked for the Wellcome Trust for more than 20 years as a Policy Adviser and Programme Manager for open research.
Tracey Mahoney
Executive Assistant & Events Manager
Tracey Mahoney is Executive Assistant to Philippe Sanseau and Guy Cochrane, and Events Manager of the Global Biodata Coalition.
Tracey joined GBC in 2026 after working for the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) for over six years as a Personal Assistant and Team Administrator. Tracey has over 20 years experience of working in administration, including working in the private, public and academic sectors.
Honor Pollard
Communication Officer
Honor Pollard is the Communications Officer of the Global Biodata Coalition.
Honor joined the GBC in July 2026. Honor has a background in biological sciences. Her career has spanned roles in the charity and public sector focussed on science communication, researcher engagement, digital channel management, content creation and internal communications. She joins the GBC after five years in the communications team at the Babraham Institute, most recently as Communications Manager.
Honor leads GBC’s communications activities, including digital communications, web content, news, social media, newsletters and communications planning.
Andrea Guzmán Mesa
Funder Relations Project Officer
Dr. Andrea Guzmán Mesa, PhD, is the Funder Relations Project Officer of the Global Biodata Coalition.
Andrea joined the GBC in October 2026 following her role as International Relations Officer at ELIXIR where she engaged with research funders, policymakers and life science researchers, building trusted relationships and fostering international collaboration.
After her PhD in Astrophysics, Andrea transitioned into science policy as an advisor for Horizon Europe in Switzerland. Andrea brings over 10 years of experience in science communication and stakeholder engagement with a strong track record of connecting diverse communities and building equitable partnerships across geographical and thematic boundaries.
At the GBC, Andrea will focus on funder relations supporting GBC’s engagement with research funders and its mission to strengthen funding resilience in biodata.