From Berlin to Lisbon: GHGA Engages Across Europe

November was a busy month for GHGA, with members attending several important events across Europe. These gatherings facilitated the exchange of ideas, strengthened collaborations, and provided valuable networking opportunities within various scientific communities. Central topics included secure data processing, the European Health Data Space, the advancement of genomic data sharing across Europe and infrastructure development.

At a workshop in Berlin organised by TMF e.V., Pascal Kraft joined experts from genomDE, the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII), and international organisations like Genomics England and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) to explore secure processing environments (SPEs) for omics data. The discussions emphasized the need for scalable, interoperable, and federated systems to ensure secure and efficient data processing in genomics research and healthcare. GHGA is dedicated to supporting these efforts as part of its mission to integrate SPEs in future phases of the GHGA Data Portal.

In another Berlin-based workshop, GHGA member Jan Eufinger contributed to European Health Data Space (EHDS) discussions. Organised by Germany’s Federal Ministries of Health (BMG) and Education and Research (BMBF), in collaboration with the Coordination Group for Health Research Data Infrastructures (GFDI), the event focused on roles, responsibilities, and requirements for implementing the EHDS. Topics included how health data ecosystems can facilitate secure secondary use of data for research and innovation, as well as exploring GHGA's evolving role within the EHDS framework.

As the German node of the European Genome Data Infrastructure (GDI), GHGA participated in the GDI General Assembly in Lisbon, represented by Luiz Gadelha. The meeting reviewed key milestones of the past two years and outlined future objectives. Discussions covered data and metadata harmonisation, the development of the GDI User Portal (set to launch in 2025), strategies for Europe-wide sharing of genomics and health data, and the integration of use cases such as the EHDS2 Cancer Genomics initiative.

In Hamburg, the e:Med Conference on Systems Medicine provided another valuable platform for GHGA engagement. Represented by Ulrike Träger and Nina Gasparoni, GHGA hosted a booth showcasing the GHGA Data Portal and its contributions to secure and FAIR-compliant genomic data sharing. The conference, which celebrated the progress of systems medicine in Germany over the past 10 years of e:Med, offered a unique opportunity to connect with the systems medicine community and explore their need for secure data sharing.

At the 1st Base4NFDI User Conference in Berlin, GHGA members Simon Parker, Koray Kirli, and Ralph Müller-Pfefferkorn joined nearly 200 participants from the NFDI community. The event focused on the development and integration of common research data management (RDM) services within the NDFI, with an emphasis on technical interoperability, alignment with European infrastructures, and local policy considerations. Simon Parker presented the ASSURED project, a training program designed to promote safe and ethical practices for handling sensitive research data. The presentation was well-received, underscoring the project’s relevance and potential impact within the NFDI community.

These events provided valuable opportunities for GHGA to contribute to ongoing discussions on data infrastructure, build partnerships, and exchange ideas across different scientific fields. GHGA remains committed to advancing the accessibility and interoperability of genomic data to support research and innovation across Europe.