Ad ancing Biomedical Da a
Science Ca ee s
S akeholde Map – V1
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17652575
1. In oduc ion
The Ad ancing Biomedical Da a Science Ca ee s (ABDC) p ojec is a collabo a ion be ween wo
wo ld leade s in biomedical da a science – The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e and EMBL’s Eu opean Bioin o ma ics
Ins i u e (EMBL-EBI). I began in Feb ua y 2025 and is se o conclude in Janua y 2027.
F om ou ex ensi e expe ience in his a ea and wo king wi h a di e se ange o exis ing and new
pa ne s, ou p ojec ou pu s will help o ganisa ions o inco po a e da a science skills in o hei eams
and es ablish g ea e unde s anding o he common language needed o skills and ca ee s in his
domain.
To achie e i s aim o documen ing skills, oles, and eam science app oaches ha os e he ecogni ion
and ad ancemen o da a science ca ee s in biomedical esea ch, he p ojec is s uc u ed in o h ee
wo k packages:
• Mapping skills and compe ency amewo ks o iden i y gaps.
•Documen ing case s udies a o ganisa ional, eam, and indi idual le els o unde s and oles, ca ee
pa hways, and eam science app oaches.
•E alua ing and ecommending inno a i e app oaches and ways o wo king o s eng hen capaci y
building and imp o e quali y and s anda ds in biomedical da a science.
As pa o Wo k Package 1 – Mapping skills and compe ency amewo ks, we ha e begun
a landscape mapping exe cise o be e unde s and he biomedical da a science ecosys em.
This phase ocuses i s on mapping s akeholde s, ollowed by a de ailed e iew o a ailable
and ele an compe ency amewo ks. F om he e, we will conduc a high-le el compe ency
analysis o highligh a eas equi ing u he de elopmen , which will hen be linked o aining
o e ings.
The wo k p esen ed below is he i s d a o he UK biomedical da a science s akeholde map,
one o he ou pu s unde Wo k Package 1.
2. S akeholde map
Wo k on his d a map, de eloped in Mi o, began in Ap il 2025 and con inued h ough Oc obe
2025. We will keep upda ing ou map e e y six mon hs un il he end o he p ojec in Janua y 2027.
To guide ou wo k, we adop ed a b oad de ini ion o biomedical esea ch, ollowing he Medical
Resea ch Council: anging om omics o mic oscopy o medical imaging o popula ion coho o
en i onmen al da a.
The d a map cap u es a wide ange o s akeholde s, including o ganisa ions, p ojec s, and
eams, as well as he di e en domains o biomedical da a science hey ep esen . Ou ocus is on
he UK ecosys em, wi h in e na ional playe s included only when hei wo k di ec ly ela es o he UK.
Ou app oach was i e a i e and ou wa d-looking. We began by mapping ele an p og ammes, p ojec s
and eams wi hin he wo leading ins i u ions o he ABDC p ojec , as well as he ABDC p ojec ’s
pa ne ins i u ions (shown on he le side o he map). F om he e, we expanded ou wa d o
cap u e he b oade UK ecosys em, inco po a ing eedback om he wide communi y.
I is impo an o no e ha while his map is in ended o help o ganisa ions and indi iduals
unde s and he UK biomedical da a science landscape, i is no exhaus i e, pa icula ly a his i s -
d a s age.
2.1 Clus e ing
The ollowing ca ego ies we e used o clus e he di e en s akeholde s. I should be no ed ha
hese ca ego ies we e de ined by he esea ch eam, and hei de ini ions a e he e o e subjec i e
and may di e om hose used by o he s. Below, we p o ide a sho desc ip ion o each ca ego y o
help na iga e he map.
• Ca ego y: The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e: G and Challenges & Mission p og ammes
Desc ip ion: The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e ocuses on ans o ming heal h h ough i s challenge-led
app oach ou lined in he 5-yea Tu ing 2.0 s a egy, and i s key mission p og ammes.
• Ca ego y: The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e: ele an p ojec s
Desc ip ion: Pas and p esen p ojec s om The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e ha may be ele an o,
in o m, o suppo he wo k o ABDC.
◊Sub-ca ego y: Pas Tu ing p ojec s o documen
• Ca ego y: ABDC P ojec : co e eam
Desc ip ion: The Ad ancing Biomedical Da a Science Ca ee s p ojec is join ly deli e ed by he
Alan Tu ing Ins i u e and EMBL-EBI. He e, we ha e mapped eams, p ojec s, and p og ammes
om bo h o ganisa ions ha a e ele an o he p ojec .
◊Sub-ca ego y: O he ele an Tu ing eams and In e es G oups
◊Sub-ca ego y: EMBL/EMBL-EBI p og ammes, p ojec s, and p oduc s
◊Sub-ca ego y: O he ele an EMBL-EBI eams, p ojec s and p oduc s
• Ca ego y: ABDC Le e o Suppo (LoS) pa ne s
Desc ip ion: O ganisa ions ha p o ided a le e o suppo o he Ad ancing Biomedical Da a
Science Ca ee s p ojec .
• Ca ego y: Resea ch Ins i u ions
Desc ip ion: O ganisa ions ha conduc scien i ic esea ch ac oss he UK, including uni e si ies,
uni e si y cen es and uni s, as well as independen o cha i able o ganisa ions ha apply da a-
d i en app oaches o imp o e unde s anding o biomedical sys ems ac oss sec o s.
◊Sub-ca ego y: UK Uni e si ies o Heal h Da a Science (main)
◊Sub-ca ego y: Cen e o Doc o al T aining (CDTs) and Doc o al T aining Pa ne ship
(DTPs)
◊ Sub-ca ego y: Uni e si y TTOs (Tech T ans e O ices)
•Ca ego y: Pa ien and Public In ol emen and Engagemen (PPIE)
Desc ip ion: Ini ia i es, communi ies, and g oups ha wo k wi h pa ien s and he public a all
s ages o esea ch o ensu e ha s udies e lec eal-wo ld needs, ha pa ien s’ igh s a e ai ly
ep esen ed, and ha ou comes a e communica ed in clea and accessible ways.
• Ca ego y: MRC lis o ins i u es, uni s and cen es
Desc ip ion: MRC- unded esea ch o ganisa ions ac oss he UK, including long- e m,
mul idisciplina y es ablishmen s (Ins i u es), ocused esea ch g oups (Uni s), and collabo a i e
en i ies ha in eg a e a ious esea ch e o s (Cen es), ypically based wi hin uni e si ies o
independen esea ch o ganisa ions. To no e: MRC is mo ing om Cen es and Uni s o ‘Cen es
o Resea ch Excellence’. Cu en Cen es/Uni s will shu o e nex ew yea s, and new CoREs
will open.
◊Sub-ca ego y: Ins i u es
◊Sub-ca ego y: Cen es and Uni s - In ec ions and Immuni y Boa d
◊Sub-ca ego y: Cen es and Uni s - Molecula and Cellula Medicine Boa d
◊ Sub-ca ego y: Cen es and Uni s - Neu osciences and Men al Heal h Boa d
◊ Sub-ca ego y: Cen es and Uni s - Popula ion and Sys ems Medicine Boa d
◊ Sub-ca ego y: O he ele an MRC in es men s:
◊ Sub-ca ego y: MRC Biomedical Da a Science Leade ship Awa d p ojec s
• Ca ego y: UK Go e nmen , agencies and depa men s
Desc ip ion: Depa men s, agencies and go e nmen - unded o ganisa ions and ini ia i es.
• Ca ego y: Na ional Heal h Se ice (NHS)
Desc ip ion: NHS-a ilia ed da a science and analy ics eams, p ojec s, ne wo ks, and
communi ies.
• Ca ego y: Regula o s
Desc ip ion: O ganisa ions esponsible o se ing, o e seeing o en o cing s anda ds, quali y,
and sa e y wi hin heal hca e, medicines and da a in e ope abili y.
• Ca ego y: Funde s
Desc ip ion: O ganisa ions ha p o ide inancial suppo o esea ch, inno a ion, and
de elopmen ac oss heal h, science, and echnology sec o s, including go e nmen agencies,
esea ch councils and philan h opic ounda ions.
• Ca ego y: Resea ch In as uc u es, Heal h Da a Holde s and Ga eways
Desc ip ion: P ojec s, acili ies, knowledge-based esou ces, se ices, and ne wo ks o da a,
echnologies, and digi al in as uc u es ha suppo esea ch and inno a ion communi ies and
indus y in conduc ing esea ch. Some o ganisa ions and pla o ms also collec , cu a e, and
p o ide con olled access o UK heal h and biomedical da a, enabling secu e da a sha ing o
esea ch h ough go e nance amewo ks, me ada a ca alogues, and access se ices.
◊ Sub-Ca ego y: UKRI Digi al Resea ch In as uc u es
Selec ed ini ia i es unded h ough he UKRI Digi al Resea ch In as uc u e (DRI)
P og amme.
• Ca ego y: S a egic Technical Pla o ms
Desc ip ion: S a egic in es men s o sys ema ic suppo , aining and de elopmen o p omo e,
enable and empowe he Resea ch Technical P o essional communi y in UK uni e si ies.
◊ Sub-ca ego y: Facili ies
• Ca ego y: Socie ies/P o essional bodies
Desc ip ion: Membe ship o ganisa ions ha ep esen and suppo esea che s and
p o essionals wi hin he biomedical da a science communi y. They p omo e os e collabo a ion,
c ea e s anda ds, p o ide aining and some imes acc edi a ion.
• Ca ego y: Ne wo ks/Communi ies
Desc ip ion: Collabo a i e g oups o indi iduals o o ganisa ions ha sha e common goals,
expe ise, o in e es s in ad ancing biomedical da a science. While in o mal o no legally
inco po a ed, hey acili a e knowledge exchange, capaci y building and coo dina ion ac oss
sec o s and disciplines.
• Ca ego y: Indus y
Desc ip ion: Companies and comme cial o ganisa ions ope a ing in biomedical esea ch and
da a science, including hose de eloping he apeu ics, diagnos ics, medical de ices, so wa e,
and da a-d i en solu ions, o en collabo a ing wi h uni e si ies, esea ch ins i u es and heal hca e
p o ide s o ansla e esea ch in o p ac ical applica ions.
To no e: mapping indus y s akeholde s o all sizes, om s a ups o mul ina ionals, goes beyond
he scope o his wo k. We ha e he e o e made a conscious decision o ocus on wha we
conside o be la ge playe s. S a ups ha e been mos ly excluded om he map, as he UK
biomedical s a up ecosys em is con inuously g owing, bu we included es ablished incuba o
and accele a o p og ammes o e lec his.
◊Sub-ca ego y: Incuba o /Accele a o p og ammes
• Ca ego y: Cha i ies
Desc ip ion: Non-p o i o ganisa ions ha und, conduc , o suppo biomedical esea ch and
da a-d i en ini ia i es, o en ocusing on speci ic diseases, heal h condi ions o public heal h
p io i ies. They ypically aise unds om he public and equen ly collabo a e wi h uni e si ies,
esea ch ins i u es, indus y pa ne s, and heal hca e p o ide s.
3. Communi y engagemen
We ecognise ha his is no wo k we can do alone, so we ha e o ganised and aken pa in a ange
o ac i i ies o ga he eedback om he UK heal h and biomedical da a science communi y.
The i s ac i i y was a wo-hou wo kshop held in June 2025, whe e we sha ed ou ea ly mapping and
a ionale and in i ed eedback and con ibu ions. This wo kshop was in i e-only, wi h 23 pa icipan s
a ending. The ABDC co e eam selec ed pa icipan s o ensu e balanced ep esen a ion ac oss he
ca ego ies included in he map. In i a ions we e ex ended h ough ou wide ne wo k o pa ne s and
collabo a o s (pas and p esen ) and, whe e necessa y, h ough a ge ed esea ch and snowballing.
Addi ional eedback was ga he ed h ough he ABDC Ad iso y Boa d a i s i s mee ing in
Sep embe 2025. The boa d is made up o 9 indi iduals wi h an almos equal gende spli ,
ep esen ing di e en sec o s, om indus y o esea ch and academia, and spanning ca ee
s ages om ea ly ca ee o senio leade ship.
The ABDC eam also collec ed in e nal eedback om colleagues a The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e and
EMBL-EBI and p esen ed he wo k in p og ess a a ious con e ences and e en s, including ISMB/
ECCB 2025 (July), STEP-UP (July), CaSDaR (Sep embe ), he HDR UK Con e ence 2025 (Oc obe ),
and he MRC Biomedicine Con e ence 2025 (No embe ).
4. De ining biomedical da a science
As shown abo e, he de ini ion o biomedical da a science guiding ou mapping is e y b oad. A key
ocus o ou s akeholde engagemen ac i i ies has he e o e been o explo e he di e en de ini ions
in use and conside whe e he bounda ies o he discipline should be d awn.
Below a e some o he commen s we ecei ed du ing ou wo kshops, which a e helping us de ine
he nex s eps.
•Biomedical esea ch has wo main dimensions: he esea ch side, which seeks o unde s and
how he human b ain, body, and mind unc ion ac oss la ge popula ions; and he clinical side,
which ocuses on de eloping ea men s and unning ials o speci ic diseases o g oups. I see
people wo king wi hin ei he o hese domains o b idging he space be ween hem.
•Di icul ... I wo k wi h omics, heal hca e, social and economic da a ela ed o public heal h. Mos
da a scien is a e in e disciplina y in na u e and will ha e wo ked wi h da ase s coming om
mul iple domains, i.e. physics, chemis y, biology, enginee ing, e c.
•We de ine biomedical da a scien is s as someone who applies compu a ional, ma hema ical o
•s a is ical skills in a biomedical esea ch ield his includes (and is no limi ed o) all esea che s,
educa o s, da a s ewa ds, esea ch in as uc u e o so wa e enginee s con ibu ing o enabling
biological, medical o heal h esea ch ha imp o es ou unde s anding o heal h and disease.
•Biomedical da a science is he use o da a-d i en me hods o sol e p oblems in biology and
medicine, wi h a s ong ocus on human heal h. I s bounda ies a e de ined by in en (heal h-
ocused), da a ype (biomedical), and me hod (quan i a i e and compu a ional).
•I ’s di icul o d aw a bounda y, as he discipline is going o con inue de eloping – new on ie s,
new app oaches, new capaci ies. I should include all people who wo k wi h da a in any p o ession/
use case ouching on biology. This is because animal esea ch impac s heal hca e, ag icul u al
esea ch ouches heal hca e as a ood sou ce, ecological esea ch impac s heal hca e as
en i onmen al ac o s.
5. Nex s eps
Wi h his i s d a now inalised, we a e mo ing he map o Kumu, a ool ha o ganises complex
da a in o clea , in e ac i e isualisa ions, ideal o mapping ecosys ems, hei connec ions, and hei
dynamics. Kumu will enable us o be e cap u e he mul iple laye s o in e sec ion be ween ac o s in
he ecosys em, as well as he plu ali y o ela ionships ha ex end beyond he plain, wo-dimensional
ep esen a ion o his ini ial d a .
Once comple e, he map will be published and made openly a ailable o dissemina e ou wo k and
bene i he b oade communi y. The public Kumu map will include o ganisa ions, ele an p ojec s
and p og ammes, and indi iduals whe e possible. I will no con ain any sensi i e in o ma ion; names
and oles will only be included i hey a e al eady public o i indi iduals ha e gi en explici consen .
As his is an ongoing piece o wo k, we welcome eedback, commen s and sugges ions o
imp o emen . I you’d like o con ibu e o his wo k, please email you commen s o:
[email p o ec ed].
6. Au ho s
•Bianco, Denise (Senio Resea ch Communi y Manage o ABDC, The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e)
•Tomba, Giulia (Senio Resea ch Associa e o ABDC, The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e)
•Sokolo a, Da ia (Scien i ic T aining O ice , EMBL-EBI)
• Kou sou oupa, Ei ini (P og amme Manage o ABDC, The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e)
• Gu wi z, Kim (T aining Manage and P ojec Co-Lead o ABDC, EMBL-EBI)
• Ma se , Ve a (Head o Skills and P ojec Co-Lead o ABDC, The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e)
•Ka oune, Emma (P incipal Resea che and P ojec Lead o ABDC, The Alan Tu ing Ins i u e)
We would like o acknowledge he con ibu ions o he wide biomedical da a science communi y
and hank e e yone who con ibu ed o his wo k, including he ABDC Ad iso y Boa d and he o he
p ojec eams wo king unde he MRC Biomedical Da a Science Leade ship Awa ds.
7. Funding acknowledgmen
This p ojec is unded by he MRC Biomedical Da a Science Leade ship Awa ds (g an numbe
MR/Z50662X/1). The iews exp essed a e hose o he au ho (s) and no necessa ily hose o he
Medical Resea ch Council. We would also like o acknowledge he in-kind con ibu ions o The Alan
Tu ing Ins i u e and EMBL-EBI.
