This grant funding will also be used to acquire a cluster of computational resources and additional sequencing and metabolomic data of local sample collections. Dr Panagiotis Alexiou has been identified at application stage as the ERA Chair. The bioinformatics team will be hosted at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking. This is the first ERA Chair grant to be awarded to the University of Malta. It is a joint project between the Department of Applied Biomedical Science (Faculty of Health Sciences) and the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking.
The project, “Bioinformatics for Genomics in Malta” (BioGeMT), will merge the strengths of the University of Malta (UM) in ICT and Genomics. One of its aims is to forge collaborations with existing molecular genetics research groups. The goal is for UM to sustainably develop the field of Bioinformatics to translate patient derived multi-Omic and clinical data into a better understanding of disease. The advancements made in high throughput -Omic technologies are locally hampered by a lack of bioinformaticians.
UM has expertise in biobanking, genetics, genomics, and epidemiological research, enabled through strong ties with Mater Dei Hospital. BioGeMT complements and builds on previous investments (ERDF, TWINNING, local R&I funds) used to train researchers, build specialised labs and set up highly phenotyped disease-oriented sample collections with multi-Omic data. This data includes 1,000 whole genomes and transcriptomes sequenced in the project TargetID: Novel Drug Targets for Infectious Diseases funded through the COVID-19 R&D Fund 2020 jointly administered by the Malta Council for Science and Technology and Malta Enterprise. The bioinformatics team employed through this project will help unlock the full potential of ongoing local studies.
The newly established BioGeMT team will provide the missing piece of the puzzle needed to bring this expertise together into world class research outcomes. A strong bioinformatics presence at UM will boost the international attractiveness, innovation and ability of the University of Malta to compete successfully for international research funding, including IMI, Horizon Europe, charity foundations, and industrial grants, by creating a highly-specialised bioinformatics centre in Southern Europe.
In the long-term this will increase the attractiveness of Malta to bioinformatics companies in line with the national smart specialisation strategy to expand into ICT for health, counteract brain-drain, generate jobs and enable collaboration with untapped non-EU regions. There is great potential for bioinformatics in Malta, and the ERA Chair grant is just the first step in the development of that sector locally.
The UM co-chief investigators in this grant are Prof. Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger, Dr Jean-Paul Ebejer, and Dr Rosienne Farrugia. The project management team also includes Dr Melissa Formosa and Prof. Richard Muscat.
