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ELIXIR has always been committed to timely and transparent sharing of data, information, and knowledge. In 2013, ELIXIR partnered with the open research publisher F1000 on the ELIXIR Gateway, which acts as a hub for ELIXIR articles, documents, slides, and posters. 

Over the past decade, the ELIXIR Gateway has been further tailored to serve the needs of the ELIXIR community. We spoke to newly appointed members of the ELIXIR Gateway Advisory Board to learn more about their background and motivations, their views on open research, and where they hope to see the Gateway go in the future. 

What is the ELIXIR Gateway? 

The ELIXIR Gateway is an open research hub for ELIXIR-supported projects and activities. The Gateway welcomes a range of different outputs, including original research articles, opinion articles, and software tool articles, as well as documents, posters, and slides.   

All articles are published in line with F1000’s open and transparent publishing model encompassing open access, open data, and open peer review.  

Meet some of the newly appointed ELIXIR Gateway Advisory Board members 

Nunzio D’Agostino, an Associate Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics at the University of Naples Federico II, brings a wealth of experience in sequence data analysis and “omics” data management. His research spans the study of transcriptomes, gene expression profiles, and genomics of agricultural species, as well as the realms of CRISPR technology. For Nunzio, being part of the ELIXIR Gateway is an opportunity to exchange scientific knowledge on a global scale and engage in innovative science communication. 

Irena Maus is the Node Coordinator of the German ELIXIR Node and has a background in bioinformatics and systems biology. In her role, she supports the strategic and administrative aspects of ELIXIR Germany, fostering relationships within the ELIXIR community, and is a strong advocate for open research practices. Irena believes that shared knowledge is power, and being part of the Advisory Board allows her to shape the future of ELIXIR Gateway and highlight its value in the life sciences, as Irena puts it “To get involved with the ELIXIR Gateway means to be at the forefront when it comes to new scientific or infrastructural achievements, increasing knowledge and understanding of science communication, as well as influencing people’s opinions and policy preferences by underlining the importance of infrastructures like ELIXIR and its added value for the life sciences.” 

Karel Berka, an Associate Professor at Palacky University Olomouc, is teaching and has a research interest in structural bioinformatics and drug design. Karel’s journey with ELIXIR Czech Node began in its preparation phase in 2011, and he believes the ELIXIR Gateway offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the openness of ELIXIR’s science communication to the scientific community. 

Clare Garrard has been working at the ELIXIR Hub since July 2022. She has a multi-faceted role, which ranges from contributing to ELIXIR Communities and the Interoperability Platform to engaging with stakeholders and building relationships. Her background in bioinformatics (both structural (molecular dynamics of HIV) and NGS), and journalism (Clare has worked in some journalistic roles, for example serving as News Editor on her university newspaper and writing own science blog) equips her with a diverse set of skills. Clare chose to get involved with the ELIXIR Gateway to experience what an open publishing platform can look like from an operational perspective. 

What do you hope to achieve? 

The members of the Advisory Board view their involvement with the ELIXIR Gateway as an opportunity to enhance their academic careers, work with scientists with shared interests, broaden their expertise, and influence what gets published under the ELIXIR banner. As Clare Garrard notes: “I hope to have the chance to enrich the Gateway and make it more valuable for the ELIXIR community – for example, by improving our approach to getting articles peer reviewed within the ELIXIR network, by adding new types of publications that better serve the ELIXIR community’s outputs, or through expanding our approach to Collections. I am also looking forward to learning from other members of the Advisory Board.” 

They aspire to enrich the Gateway and make it more valuable for the ELIXIR community, with the key drivers being the knowledge sharing and collaboration among an international and interdisciplinary team with diverse perspectives.  

As Irena Maus puts it: “Knowledge is power – shared knowledge is even more powerful! I look forward to working with my colleagues from the Advisory Board. We are an international but also an interdisciplinary team with diverse backgrounds and experiences in ELIXIR matters. It allows us to learn from each other and apply our different ideas and concepts from the perspective of an author, reviewer and active resident of the ELIXIR cosmos in order to shape the future of ELIXIR Gateway and hopefully make it even more present and thriving.” 

What can the ELIXIR Gateway offer to the broader ELIXIR community? 

The ELIXIR Gateway serves as a centralized and accessible platform for sharing vital information in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology. In addition, the Gateway offers an inclusive space for scientists to share all elements of their work, including smaller contributions such as posters and slides, that are often overlooked by traditional journals.  

“The ELIXIR Gateway offers the ELIXIR community a centralized source of information including scientific policy papers, scientific publications, and posters from ELIXIR conferences,” says Karel Berka. 

This inclusivity can extend to early career researchers, helping them gain visibility for their work. 

“Small contributions are often unwelcome or do not meet the journal’s standards and are therefore not visible to the readership. The inclusion of these contributions in the ELIXIR Gateway may be a small step for mankind but can provide a big step up for a young researcher,” says Irena Maus. 

Additionally, the Gateway’s role in consolidating ELIXIR publications and documents under one umbrella can simplify access for the community, promoting collaboration and open science practices. 

As stated by Clare Garrard, “ELIXIR is all about the people, so it’s great to have a place where authors can publish things that are valuable to the ELIXIR community but would not necessarily suit the audience of a particular journal. As an open science platform, it offers the opportunity for authors to publish their work openly as soon as it is complete, and without having to pay publishing fees as these are covered by ELIXIR.” 

What are your views on the F1000 publishing model and on open research practices in general?

The Advisory Board members express a strong support of open research practices highlighting the significant benefits they bring to scientists and the broader scientific community.  

“I think open access, open data and open source practices bring significant benefits to scientists in terms of the visibility of their work and to the whole scientific community to increase the FAIR-ability of their data,” says Nunzio D’Agostino. 

In addition, the move from traditional subscription-based publishing to open access models, like the one used by F1000, is seen as a positive trend, enabling people worldwide to access scientific findings without financial, legal, or technical barriers.  

‘’Open science is a powerful way to drive innovation and collaboration and get research into the hands of those who can action it,” Clare Garrard states. 

The newly refreshed ELIXIR Gateway Advisory Board reaffirms ELIXIR’s commitment to transparent and open communication in the research community. Insights from the Board members emphasize their shared goal of shaping ELIXIR’s future and providing a central location for bioinformatics and computational biology information which is available to the wider research community. The Advisory Board unanimously supports open research practices and the F1000 model, recognizing how they both advance scientific knowledge and improve the global accessibility of research findings. 

Explore the ELIXIR-affiliated articles with the highest scientific impact or visit the ELIXIR Gateway to discover more research projects and outputs supported by ELIXIR.  

If you’d like to pose a topic for the Board to discuss or have any questions for the Board, get in touch at info@f1000.com.