ELIXIR-UK is the United Kingdom’s national Node of ELIXIR, the European infrastructure for bioscience data. We are a distributed research infrastructure and a collaborative network, bringing together leading UK research-performing organisations and the people behind them.
Our role
Supporting the UK life science community to build, connect and sustain world-class digital research infrastructure.
- Enable delivery – helping teams and individuals to provide world-class data services, resources and training.
- Champion people – supporting the researchers and technical professionals behind the work.
- Amplify voices – shaping standards and policy at national and international levels.
What makes us different
ELIXIR-UK is not just a network you belong to, but a community you can actively shape. We ensure equitable access to meetings, collaborations, projects and leadership roles – so that contributions come from every level, not only from the top. This means early-career researchers, technical experts and established leaders work side by side, sharing responsibility for decisions and driving progress together.
- Open doors – equitable access to meetings, collaborations projects and opportunities.
- Shared leadership – early voices and established leaders work side by side.
- Real influence – contributions at every level shape decisions and influence policy consultations.
Our vision
A UK research ecosystem where every life-science researcher and technical professional shapes and benefits from a world-leading, collaborative and FAIR digital research infrastructure that is AI-ready.
What “Infrastructure” means to us
Our infrastructure is not simply a platform, whether digital or physical, it’s the collective expertise, resources and partnerships of our member organisations. ELIXIR-UK’s distributed model ensures that knowledge, innovation and support are accessible across the UK, strengthening both local and national capabilities. We funnel access to funding and community consultations at national and international levels, leveraging our strategic position inside the larger ELIXIR consortium.
As a distributed infrastructure, a network of UK universities and research institutes, the ELIXIR-UK Node doesn’t directly own or run services. Instead, we support and connect the people who deliver these and enable UK life science research to thrive. We ensure no one works in isolation and the interests of the UK bioscience community are jointly represented when we advocate for policy changes and funding strategies.
Us, the UK Node, inside the larger ELIXIR consortium
The ELIXIR consortium follows a Hub and Spokes model:
- The ELIXIR Hub (the headquarters located at the Wellcome Genome Campus) sets strategy and coordinates activities across Europe.
- National Nodes, like ELIXIR-UK, are the spokes, bringing together local expertise, resources and priorities.
ELIXIR-UK connects the UK’s research community to the wider European infrastructure and contributes UK excellence and knowledge to the consortium. Being a member of ELIXIR-UK grants organisations access to the benefits of the entire consortium. This approach ensures that UK teams both benefit from and help shape international collaboration, innovation and standards-enhancing life science research across all participating countries.
