BioFAIR is a joint Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Medical Research Council (MRC) project, which is dedicated to advancing life science research by improving the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability (FAIR) of research data. The BioFAIR Pathfinder Projects will act as exemplars, driving requirements for the BioFAIR initiative and developing proofs-of-concept that can benefit from, and be incorporated into, the national infrastructure.
Dr Kevin Rue-Albrecht, from the MRC WIMM Centre for Computational Biology, successfully applied for funding for his project “Connecting Bioconductor, Galaxy, and nf-core: FAIR, AI-ready workflows and training for single-cell analysis”.
Using single-cell data analysis as a focused scientific test case, this project aims to build stronger connections between three major bioinformatics platforms: Bioconductor, Galaxy and nf-core.
Although many powerful tools already exist, differences in packaging and metadata make them hard to find, combine and reuse across a fragmented research software landscape. The team will develop shared, well-documented example workflows, align metadata so tools can be discovered across platforms, and deliver hands-on training to help researchers apply them to their own data.
Beyond improving current practice, the project is designed as a model for how different software communities can work together around common FAIR standards. By demonstrating practical, cross-platform solutions, it aims to act as a springboard for wider collaboration and future FAIR-by-design infrastructure across the life sciences.