Eagle Genomics, a pioneer in applying network science to biology, and the Earlham Institute, a bioscience research facility, announce their new partnership focused on providing critical tools required to analyze, explore and exploit complex microbiome data. Applied across both academia and industry, the partnership will facilitate access to unique resources while accelerating data-driven collaboration.

As Eagle Genomics’ foundational knowledge partner, the Earlham Institute brings a wealth of expertise in genomics and bioinformatics, as well as developing and testing laboratory methods and computational biology pipelines to study microbial communities. The Institute has already developed a number of successful tools and datasets for bioinformaticians – such as Signalink, SalmoNet, STRONG and LotuS2.

Eagle Genomics’ platform, e[datascientist], applies network science to multi-dimensional life sciences data – including environmental and clinical metagenomes for multi-omics analysis. It accelerates research and development into the understanding of human-microbiome interactions to support innovation workflows, including the generation of product claims.

“Eagle Genomics’ industry-leading open platform is helping drive the digital reinvention of life sciences R&D across numerous industries, from AgBio and food through to healthcare, personal care and beauty,” said Anthony Finbow, CEO of Eagle Genomics.

“Our partnership with the Earlham Institute is a clear demonstration of our commitment to enable a radical, global shift in microbiome science-led innovation. By harnessing nature – including its complex networks and associated multi-dimensional data – we can help tackle the world’s Grand Challenges while unlocking significant economic potential.”

“This partnership is part of a big data revolution in terms of how multi-omics data will be accessed and analysed – combining open science and commercial R&D to benefit each partner and society,” said Dr. Liliya Serazetdinova, head of Business Development and Impact at the Earlham Institute.

“Eagle Genomics’ e[datascientist] platform gives our scientists the opportunity to share their work more widely, establish new connections, and use it as a testing ground – interrogating and integrating new datasets, as well as developing new tools and pipelines – to further advance our research and apply to the biotech industry.

“We’re really excited to be working with Eagle Genomics and look forward to seeing how this platform evolves and involves more partners in the coming months.”

Eagle Genomics’ partnership with the Earlham Institute will range from collaborative R&D to consultancy work and licensing, as well as deploying e[datascientist]’s hosting and networking capabilities. It will also provide strategic insight as part of a steering group on new pipelines, and for example, could include research into:

• Classification and genome reconstruction in complex environments
• Biological signaling network resources for human and model organisms
• Global patterns of antimicrobial resistance found in microbes
• Investigating the persistence and evolution of human associated microbes

“At Eagle, we’re using network science and world-leading AI tools to unlock the potential for innovation from complex multi-dimensional microbiome data. Our new partnership with the Earlham Institute will help support the global microbiome R&D community while shaping the future of metagenomics, linking world-leading bioinformatics pipelines, tools, and datasets.”

“We are delighted that the Earlham Institute is partnering with us, on our journey towards creating an open platform for data innovation,” said Dr. Andrew Tingey, senior director, Global Licensing and IP Strategy at Eagle Genomics.

Eagle Genomics is currently in discussions with a range of other organizations to ensure that its platform continues to evolve as the burgeoning global life sciences knowledge discovery hub.