Phenomics Australia joins critical conversations about collaborative international research infrastructure at the 2025 Australian and European Health Research Infrastructure Symposium.
The 2025 Australian & European Health Research Infrastructure Symposium, held from 16-18 September at the Monash University Prato Centre in Italy, united leaders from Australian and international research infrastructure (RI) communities to strengthen international partnerships and tackle shared challenges in health and life sciences.
Phenomics Australia joined critical conversations, alongside representatives from the NCRIS Health Group (Bioplatforms Australia, National Imaging Facility, Therapeutic Innovation Australia, Phenomics Australia, Population Health Research Network, Microscopy Australia and EMBL Australia) and their European colleagues from European infrastructures such as BBMRI-ERIC, Euro-BioImaging, EATRIS, ELIXIR, ECRIN, Infrafrontier, EU-OPENSCREEN and Instruct-ERIC.
The symposium also saw delegates from the Australian National Research Infrastructure (NRI) Advisory Group, the European Commission (EC), the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Association, and the European Federation for Cancer Images (EUCAIM).
We’re delighted to share a joint whitepaper emerging from the Australia-Europe Research Infrastructure dialogue series led by the Australian NCRIS Health Group and European life science research infrastructures.
The whitepaper underscores the importance of strong international connectivity. These foundations are critical as Australia positions itself for renewed negotiations to associate with Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research and innovation programme.
Global science now depends on continent-scale collaboration. From AI-driven life sciences to global health crises and climate-related threats, no country can meet these challenges alone. By strengthening our ties with Europe, we’re helping ensure that Australian researchers remain globally connected, competitive, and equipped to lead in emerging science and technology.
Day One: Tackling global health challenges through coordinated RIs
It was an honour to have the symposium opened by Her Excellency, the Australian Ambassador to Italy Ms Julianne Cowley, followed by an outline of Australian and European roadmaps and strategic priorities provided by the European Commission and Prof. Liz Sonenberg on behalf of the Australian National Research Infrastructure Advisory Group.
Day Two: Identifying and qualifying areas for collaboration and collective impact
With strong discussions around AI in health and life science, training and workforce development, and approaches to innovation and translation. Euro-BioImaging Director General chaired the panel discussion on “AI in health and life science”, which explored the risks and benefits of AI in health research as well as ethical considerations.
In place of our CEO Prof. Michael Dobbie, our Board Chair Dr Liz Jazwinska facilitated the approach to innovation and translation panel session, which heard insights into how EMBL translates technology for researchers, how TIA supports translational research, including the voucher scheme, and the impact of NCRIS facilities overall on translation with insights from John Hooper, UQ.
Day Three: Shaping strategy and international collaboration
Our Deputy CEO A/Prof. Jim Hennessy chaired the first session of the day on industry and community drivers for distributed research initiatives. With the final session of the symposium, focusing on leadership, policy and sustainability with Liz Jazwinska a part of the panel.
Organised by EMBL Australia, PHRN, ERIC Forum, BBMRI-ERIC, INFRAFRONTIER and Bioplatforms Australia, and supported by Phenomics Australia, Therapeutic Innovation Australia, National Imaging Facility and Microscopy Australia, the symposium underscored the value of international partnerships in addressing complex health challenges and advancing research infrastructure for the benefit of global communities.
Insights into the international capabilities of EMBL
Following the symposium, our Phenomics Australia leadership as part of the EMBL Australia and NCRIS delegation were welcomed to Barcelona. Together, they toured the EMBL Barcelona facilities, exploring how research infrastructures enable discovery at the interface of biology, engineering and computation. The visit sparked vibrant conversations about how international collaboration and shared infrastructures can accelerate breakthroughs in imaging, modelling and beyond.
From Barcelona, our leadership team had to opportunity to tour EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) located in Hinxton, United Kingdom. The tour gave insights into how EMBL-EBI is laying foundations for the future of life sciences by making biomolecular data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reproducible).
“These visits highlighted the importance of connecting national infrastructures. The conversations were both valuable and productive, setting the stage for meaningful cooperation that will strength Australia’s research capability and our collaboration with international networks.”
Reflected Deputy CEO Jim Hennessy
About the NCRIS Health Group
The NCRIS Health Group includes Bioplatforms Australia (BPA), National Imaging Facility (NIF), Phenomics Australia (PA), Population Health Research Network (PHRN), Therapeutic Innovation Australia (TIA), and EMBL Australia enabled by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
The NCRIS Health Group supports cross-disciplinary research, giving Australian researchers access to world-leading facilities for more impactful outcomes across the whole translation cycle. Contact any of the affiliated organisations for more information about open access to capabilities.
For further information about the NCRIS Health Group, contact:
