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IKTPLUSS-IKT og digital innovasjon

BioExcel-3 Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Computational Biomolecular Research

Alternative title: BioExcel-3 Senter for fremragende forskning for beregningsbasert biomolekylær forskning

Awarded: NOK 0.75 mill.

The BIOEXCEL Centre of Excellence for Computational Biomolecular Research was established in 2015 to accelerate the development of the most widely used European open-source software for computational biomolecular research and make efficient use of the latest High Performance Computing (HPC) resources. Life Science is turning into a data-driven and HPC dependent research field, with an estimated 95% of Life Science projects now being dependent on HPC. The rapid response to Covid-19 showed how collaboration between the pharma industry, Life Science researchers using BioExcel software and HPC centres has resulted in several newly identified drug candidates which are now undergoing clinical trials. During the next four years, the BioExcel will: (i) improve the performance of the software packages and ensure their efficient exploitation on major European HPC systems; (ii) improve the usability of the software and reproducibility of results by adopting standards and best practices and developing workflows for diverse computing environments; (iii) strengthen the engagement with academic and industrial user communities to guide software development and ensure scientific impact; (iv) provide state-of-the-art training and support to reduce the skills gap and develop the next generation of computational scientists; (v) conduct wide and effective dissemination of results to promote further use of the software and support services by the HPC Life Science community.

Biomolecular research is fundamental to expanding our knowledge in biology, biochemistry, genetics and medicine. Understanding the relationship between the structure and function of biomolecules like proteins, DNA, carbohydrates and lipids, impacts development in all these different fields. By improving the methods for biomolecular modelling and simulation, and making efficient use of High Performance Computing (HPC) resources, scientists have at their disposal powerful research tools which are complementary to experimental methods. These biomolecular computational methods and applications are already heavily used by pharmaceutical, agriculture, food and drink and cosmetics industries to increase the speed and efficiency of product development. The Centre of Excellence for Computational Biomolecular Research (BioExcel) was established in 2015 to accelerate the development of the most widely used European open-source software for computational biomolecular research and ensure that this continues to achieve significant impact. BioExcel tools and expertise played a crucial role in the recent rapid response to Covid-19 research, resulting in several newly identified drug candidates which are now undergoing clinical trials. BioExcel-3 will: improve the performance of the software packages and ensure their exploitation on major European HPC systems; improve usability and reproducibility by adopting standards and developing workflows; strengthen the engagement with academic and industrial user communities to guide software development and ensure scientific impact; provide state-of-the-art training and support to develop the next generation of computational scientists; conduct wide dissemination of results to promote further use of the software and support services. Norman Consulting will lead the promotion and outreach activities, participate in user-driven development and establishment of strong collaborations with national and international initiatives and organisations.

Funding scheme:

IKTPLUSS-IKT og digital innovasjon