Tony Burdett

Tony is the Director of BioFAIR which aims to create a collaborative digital research infrastructure to support the sharing and management of life science data. 

Tony is an experienced leader in bioinformatics, specialising in FAIR data management and delivery of research-enabling services for the life sciences. 

He has made significant contributions to international scientific collaborations around the development of innovative data solutions. 

In his previous role as Technical Team Leader at EMBL-EBI, he led a team responsible for the European Nucleotide Archive and the EMBL-EBI’s BioSamples database, ensuring seamless accessibility and sharing of sequencing and multi-omics data for the global life sciences community. He has been responsible for the delivery of large-scale data platforms, both at EMBL-EBI and as part of international consortia such as the Human Cell Atlas. 

As a lead of the ELIXIR Interoperability Platform, Tony Burdett has also been instrumental in developing sustainable, interoperable data infrastructures across ELIXIR member states and defining innovative approaches to the practical adoption of FAIR principles.

With strategic funding from the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Medical Research Council, BioFAIR will establish a cohesive, collaborative digital research infrastructure, delivered from a coordinating hub at the Earlham Institute in Norwich and in partnership with a broad network of UK-based partners.