EOSC Node | Life Sciences Connect

The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node federates data, tools and services from major European life science infrastructures, providing access to biomolecular, biomedical, imaging and structural biology resources.

It enables FAIR-compliant integration of omics, imaging, clinical and experimental model data, supporting cutting-edge research and innovation. In addition, it delivers virtual research environments, workflows and secure access frameworks in line with GDPR and ethical guidelines.

Key objective: To augment the biodata expertise of the EOSC Federation, ensuring interoperable, FAIR, secure and ethically compliant access to life science data, services and computational resources across Europe.

Science areas: Life sciences, including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, imaging, neuroscience, clinical research, systems biology, and bioinformatics.

SCIENTIFIC IMPACT

FAIR data

The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node federates FAIR omics, imaging, structural and clinical data repositories, along with FAIR compliant software, workflows and training to accelerate discovery, support personalised medicine and strengthen European competitiveness in life sciences.

Imaging data workflows on Galaxy

This science case on imaging data workflows on Galaxy demonstrates how a federated, open-access computational platform can transform the way imaging data are processed, shared, and reused across diverse scientific domains.

The use case leverages the Galaxy platform to integrate data from a wide range of imaging-based research fields—such as life sciences (microscopy), astrophysics (telescope data), climate science (satellite data), and marine science (underwater imagery)—into a unified analysis environment. The goal is to demonstrate that Galaxy can be integrated into the EOSC Federation’s common infrastructure to serve many disciplines simultaneously, allowing researchers to share workflows, reuse methods, and access powerful computational tools without needing specialised technical expertise.

EOSC Federation scientific use case – Galaxy integration

Biological sequestration of carbon in the ocean

The scientific use case addresses the ocean’s critical role in mitigating climate change through biological carbon sequestration, a process by which marine microorganisms capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it in the deep ocean for centuries.

Despite its global importance for climate modelling, this mechanism remains poorly represented in current models, which still rely on simplified representations of marine ecosystems. The use case seeks to fill this knowledge gap by integrating genomic, environmental, and modelling data within a unified, open, and interoperable framework provided by the EOSC Federation.

EOSC Federation scientific use case – Biological sequestration of carbon in the ocean

Other use cases

Cross-domain interactive image data analysis with BAND virtual desktop: Enable human-in-the-loop analysis workflows for large scale remote datasets and support training
Federated data storage of structural biology data: Federated access to distributed data and orchestration of data flow from instruments to repositories

STATUS & TIMELINE

Status

Candidate thematic EOSC Node (build-up phase)

EOSC Node | Life Sciences Connect Project Charter

The EOSC Federation MoU signed by Instruct-ERIC Director Harald Schwalbe on behalf of the Life Sciences Connect Node, November 2025.

Deliverables

Integrated life science service catalogue
Demonstrator use cases across omics, imaging, clinical data
Policies for GDPR and ethical compliance
Technical and security frameworks (AAI, monitoring, incident response)
Training and outreach materials for the life science community
Sustainability and governance plan

Technical status

Planned

Federated AAI (Life Science AAI, ELIXIR AAI, integration with EOSC AAI)
Onboarded service catalogues (ELIXIR, Euro-BioImaging, EMBL, Instruct ERIC)
Application workflow management (Galaxy, Jupyter, workflow registries)
Service monitoring (harmonised across infrastructures)
Service and research product accounting
Order management
Helpdesk
Management system (policies aligned with EOSC and ESFRIs)

CAPABILITIES & ACCESS

COORDINATION

The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node federates data, tools and services from major European life science infrastructures, providing access to biomolecular, biomedical, imaging and structural biology resources.

FAIR data

The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node federates FAIR omics, imaging, structural and clinical data repositories, along with FAIR compliant software, workflows and training to accelerate discovery, support personalised medicine and strengthen European competitiveness in life sciences.

Imaging data workflows on Galaxy

This science case on imaging data workflows on Galaxy demonstrates how a federated, open-access computational platform can transform the way imaging data are processed, shared, and reused across diverse scientific domains.

Biological sequestration of carbon in the ocean

The scientific use case addresses the ocean’s critical role in mitigating climate change through biological carbon sequestration, a process by which marine microorganisms capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it in the deep ocean for centuries.

Other use cases

Status

Candidate thematic EOSC Node (build-up phase)

Deliverables

Technical status

Planned

Interactions with other EOSC Nodes

The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node collaborates with the following EOSC Nodes to provide health-related synergies with the European Health Data Space (EHDS).

How to access the Node

Rules of Participation

Access points

Node capabilities

Federated services

Data repositories

Compute and storage

VRE

File sync-and-share

Other

Coordinating organisations

Node organisation

Coordinator

Steering and Operations Committee

Technical and Scientific Officers

Operations Manager

Security Officer

Legal Officer

Communications Officer

Contributing organisations

Pan-European life science research organisations from the coordinating infrastructures.

The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node federates data, tools and services from major European life science infrastructures, providing access to biomolecular, biomedical, imaging and structural biology resources.

FAIR data

The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node federates FAIR omics, imaging, structural and clinical data repositories, along with FAIR compliant software, workflows and training to accelerate discovery, support personalised medicine and strengthen European competitiveness in life sciences.

Imaging data workflows on Galaxy

This science case on imaging data workflows on Galaxy demonstrates how a federated, open-access computational platform can transform the way imaging data are processed, shared, and reused across diverse scientific domains.

Biological sequestration of carbon in the ocean

The scientific use case addresses the ocean’s critical role in mitigating climate change through biological carbon sequestration, a process by which marine microorganisms capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it in the deep ocean for centuries.

Other use cases

Status

Candidate thematic EOSC Node (build-up phase)

Deliverables

Technical status

Planned

Interactions with other EOSC Nodes

The Life Sciences Connect EOSC Node collaborates with the following EOSC Nodes to provide health-related synergies with the European Health Data Space (EHDS).

How to access the Node

Rules of Participation

Access points

Node capabilities

Federated services

Data repositories

Compute and storage

VRE

File sync-and-share

Other

Coordinating organisations

Node organisation

Coordinator

Steering and Operations Committee

Technical and Scientific Officers

Operations Manager

Security Officer

Legal Officer

Communications Officer

Contributing organisations

Pan-European life science research organisations from the coordinating infrastructures.

The scientific use case addresses the ocean’s critical role in mitigating climate change through biological carbon sequestration, a process by which marine microorganisms capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it in the deep ocean for centuries.