Accelerating 'Disease Eradication' by Sharing National Bio Research Information and Data

Government Begins Pilot Operation of 'National Bio Data Station' Established Early This Year
Full Operation from End of Next Year, "Contributing to Innovation in Bio Research and Industrial Development"

Conceptual Diagram of the National Bio Data Station

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The government has launched a pilot operation of the 'Bio Data Station,' established to share information and various data related to bio research. With full-scale operation starting next year, it is expected to be utilized in the development of treatments and vaccine technologies for various infectious diseases and disorders, drawing significant attention.

On the 26th, Yong Hong-taek, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, visited the National Bio Data Dam under construction at the National Life Research Resource Information Center to check the status of the pilot operation launch and held a meeting with experts to promote the activation of the bio data sharing ecosystem.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, together with related ministries, established the 'Life Research Resource Big Data Construction Strategy' in July this year. Through government-supported bio research and development projects, it is integrating and collecting research data produced, laying the foundation for quality-controlled data to be utilized in research fields. The National Bio Data Station (K-BDS) serves as a data dam for sharing bio research data, with participation from the National Life Research Resource Information Center and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, and has been under construction since early this year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT has begun integrated collection of bio research data, which had been managed separately by ministries, projects, and researchers, through the pilot operation of the National Bio Data Station. The full-scale opening of quality-controlled data will begin in the second half of next year. A total of 51 standard registration forms for different data types have been prepared through a pan-government public-private collaboration. Researchers can use these to register data on the National Bio Data Station.

This year, through project calls, development of data analysis technologies in 15 fields of omics and bio-omics has commenced and, upon completion, will be loaded onto the National Bio Data Station. Starting next year, to ensure quality control by data field, a (tentatively named) Data Quality Leading Center composed of expert groups will operate to provide consultation support for problem-solving in research fields from data production to analysis and interpretation, as well as manage the quality of registered data.

Vice Minister Yong stated, "We hope that data produced and utilized through government bio research and development will be collected and managed, and that high-quality data will be widely used in research fields, contributing to innovation in bio research and development and industrial advancement."