Earlham Institute appoints new Head of Data Science

Dr Papatheodorou will join the Institute from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Cambridge, where she currently leads the Gene Expression team. 

Her Group at EMBL-EBI focuses on gene expression analyses at both tissue and single cell level across a number of species. She also oversees the delivery of tools and services for the submission, archiving, analysis, and visualisation of functional genomics experiments. 

In her new role as the Head of Data Science, she will spearhead the strategic development of the Earlham Institute’s data management and analyses infrastructure, as well as leading her own programme of impactful research.

Professor Neil Hall, Director of the Earlham Institute, said: “We’re really excited to have Dr Papatheodorou joining us. She brings a wealth of leadership, experience, and a passion for data-intensive bioscience - one of the areas that defines the Earlham Institute.

“Irene will be leading interdisciplinary, internationally-recognised programmes of innovative research. Her new group will undertake data science for bioscience research, focusing on cellular genomics - work that is fundamental to the Earlham Institute’s mission and stands to benefit the wider life science research community.”

After completing a degree in Genetics at University College London (UCL), Dr Papatheodorou undertook an MSc and PhD at Imperial College London, both of which focused on Bioinformatics.

Prior to her role at EMBL-EBI, she was a Senior Bioinformatician at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, having previously been a Research Associate at both UCL and the University of Cambridge.

The Papatheodorou Group at EMBL-EBI develops computational approaches to unravel the molecular basis of phenotypes in health and disease at the cell type level, by integrating bulk and single-cell “omics” data of different modalities.

Dr Papatheodorou said: “The Earlham Institute is known for its data-driven research, innovation, and training, which is why it’s fantastic to have the opportunity to take this work forward.

“Advances in data science will shape the research questions of the future. We’ll be developing the tools and standards that enable this science and working to make more data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. Importantly, we’ll be building the capacity to apply machine learning algorithms that will help uncover new biological insights.

“With the recent funding of new strategic research programmes, it’s an exciting time to be joining the Earlham Institute.”

Dr Papatheodorou will begin her new role in February 2024.