Chaired by Dr. BAO Yiming, Director of BIG Data Center of Beijing Institute of Genomics (BIG), the initiating meeting for "International Project on Omics Data Sharing for Life Science" has been held on January 17. Dr. XUE Yongbiao, Director of BIG, gave a introduction of BIG, in which he stressed the importance of data sharing and pointed out that the project will be a new trial in the field of data sharing policy in the world. Group pohto of attendees (Image by BIGD)
This project is sponsored by the National Key Research and Development Project and also the international cooperation project in Strategic International Scientific and Technological Innovation Cooperation. The attendees include team & project leaders from China Science and Technology Exchange Center, National Science and Technology Infrastructure and Bureau of International Cooperation Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as key members from Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan.
Dr. Javed Ashraf, President of Quaid-i-Azam University, briefed on the multiple benefits from Sino-Pakistan partnership and bilateral cooperation, showing full confidence and expectation in the cooperation on data sharing. YUN Tao, Project Officer from China Science and Technology Exchange Center and ZHANG Shizhuan, Director of Asia-Africa Division of the Bureau of International Cooperation Chinese Academy of Sciences briefly introduced background of the project and international cooperation between China and Pakistan, respectively.
At the end, Dr. BAO Yiming reported the overall implementation schedule of the project concerning four respects: background, objectives & research targets, detailed works for both parties of the project, and expected results.
All experts acknowledged the significance of the project with important research focus and practical technical route and put forward their constructive suggestions on the implementation of the project.
By developing a multi-omics data standardization technology system, the project will build up an applied and open platform for global life omics data, which is based on BIG Data Center, with the purpose to realize the archive, storage and sharing of physically dispersed omics data. On the basis of close collaborations with Pakistan and other countries/regions along the “Belt and Road", the project will hopefully gradually strengthen the alliance for life omics data sharing of the area mentioned above so as to enhance all members’ participation and influence in life omics data research communities in the world.