Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)

The Scientific Advisory Board plays a major role in the process for reviewing and selecting ELIXIR Nodes and provides strategic scientific advice to the ELIXIR Board. The SAB is an independent body, made up of leading experts from around the world. The committee also includes two independent ethics advisors to advise on ethical, legal and social issues related to ELIXIR. The ELIXIR SAB meets twice a year. 

What the SAB does

  • Reviews applications for new Nodes and makes recommendations to the ELIXIR Board
  • Ensures scientific and technical excellence and relevance (including independent quality assurance)
  • Identifies and recommends emerging challenges and opportunities, both within and beyond ELIXIR activities (including specific periodic reviews)
  • Carries out periodic scientific reviews of ELIXIR Platforms and Use Cases
  • Reports directly to the ELIXIR Board and ELIXIR Director on the results of their scientific reviews of ELIXIR activities

SAB members

  • Chair: Dr Doreen Ware
  • Vice-Chair: Prof. Philip Bourne
Name Affiliation
Prof. Philip Bourne (Vice-Chair) University of Virginia, USA
Prof. Ana Sofia Carvalho Catholic University of Portugal, Portugal
Dr Jennifer Gardy Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA
Dr Robert Gentleman Harvard Medical School, USA
Prof. Melissa Haendel Oregon Health and Science University, USA
Prof. Elina Ikonen University of Helsinki, Finland
Dr Janet Kelso Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany
Prof. Nicola Mulder UCT Computational Biology Group (NBN), South Africa
Dr BF Francis Ouellette Neuro Bioinformatics Core & Tannenbaum Open Science Institute, Canada
Dr Augusto Rendon Genomics England, UK
Dr Susan E. Wallace University of Leicester, UK
Dr Doreen Ware (Chair) USDA ARS, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA

Members of the SAB (from left to right): Elina Ikonen, Larry Hunter, Melissa Haendel, Philip Bourne, Janet Kelso, BF Francis Ouellette, Susan Wallace, Doreen Ware, Robert Gentleman, Nicola Mulder.