ELIXIR AI Strategy: Ten priorities for Life Sciences research

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

Abstract

The ELIXIR AI Strategy: Ten Priorities for Life Sciences Research sets out a strategic framework for enabling the responsible and effective adoption of artificial intelligence across the European life sciences research ecosystem. Recognising ELIXIR's role as the pan-European research infrastructure for life science data, the strategy defines how ELIXIR will provide the foundational capabilities needed to support trustworthy, scalable and interoperable AI-enabled research, while complementing rather than duplicating national and European initiatives. The strategy identifies ten priority areas that collectively address user needs, alignment of ELIXIR Nodes, flagship AI developments, community expertise, AI-ready data resources, standards and good practices, engagement with European AI Factories and Antennas, AI-enabled services, capacity building, and responsible AI. It emphasises the importance of federated data access, expert-curated datasets, community-driven standards, FAIR principles, and compliance with emerging European regulatory frameworks, including the AI Act and the European Health Data Space. The document proposes a phased implementation roadmap extending from 2027 onwards and highlights collaboration across ELIXIR Nodes, Platforms, Communities and external partners as essential to its success. It provides strategic guidance for coordinating investments, strengthening European research infrastructure, and ensuring that life sciences researchers and digital research technical professionals can effectively exploit AI technologies while maintaining scientific quality, transparency and trust.

Authors 30

1. Salvador Capella-Gutiérrez

   Barcelona Supercomputing Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Barcelona Supercomputing Center

2. Aedín C. Culhane

   University of Limerick

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Limerick

3. Alexander Sczyrba

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Bielefeld University

   Affiliation as printed

   Universität Bielefeld

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

4. Alfonso Valencia

   Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · Barcelona Supercomputing Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Barcelona Supercomputing Center

   Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats

5. Anne‐Françoise Adam‐Blondon

   Services déconcentrés d'appui à la recherche Ile-de-France-Versailles-Saclay · Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique

   Affiliation as printed

   INRA Centre de Versailles-Grignon

   Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique

6. Bengt L Persson
7. Carole Goble

   University of Manchester

   Affiliation as printed

   The University of Manchester

8. Christophe Dessimoz

   SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics · University of Lausanne

   Affiliation as printed

   SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics

   University of Lausanne

9. Davide Cirillo

   Barcelona Supercomputing Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Barcelona Supercomputing Center

10. Ferrán Sanz

    Universitat Pompeu Fabra

    Affiliation as printed

    Universitat Pompeu Fabra

11. Fotis E Psomopoulos

    Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

    Affiliation as printed

    Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

12. Frederik Coppens
    Affiliation as printed

    VIB

13. Gavin Farrell

    University of Padua

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Padua

14. Graziano Pesole

    University of Bari Aldo Moro

    Affiliation as printed

    Universita degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro Dipartimento di Bioscienze Biotecnologie e Biofarmaceutica

15. Harald Wagener
16. Helen E. Parkinson

    European Bioinformatics Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    EMBL-EBI

    European Bioinformatics Institute

17. Jan Gorodkin

    University of Copenhagen

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Copenhagen

18. Jiřı́ Vondrášek

    Czech Academy of Sciences · Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry

    Affiliation as printed

    Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry

19. John M. Hancock

    University of Ljubljana

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Ljubljana

20. Lucy Poveda

    SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics

    Affiliation as printed

    SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics

21. Magnus Palmblad Aachen

    Leiden University Medical Center

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden University Medical Center

22. Miha Moškon
23. Oliver Kohlbacher

    University of Tübingen

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Tübingen

24. Sérgio Matos

    Universidade Politécnica de Viana do Castelo

    Affiliation as printed

    Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo Escola Superior de Desporto e Lazer

25. Silvio C. E. Tosatto

    University of Padua

    Affiliation as printed

    Università degli Studi di Padova

26. Susanna‐Assunta Sansone

    University of Oxford

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Oxford

27. Tommi Nyrönen

    CSC - IT Center for Science (Finland)

    Affiliation as printed

    CSC - IT Center for Science (Finland)

28. Wei Gu
    Affiliation as printed

    Luxembourg National Data Service

29. Serena Scollen

    ELIXIR

    Affiliation as printed

    ELIXIR

30. Andrew Smith

    ELIXIR

    Affiliation as printed

    ELIXIR