Data Analysis and Engineering

Genomic Surveillance Unit

We are a team within the Genomic Surveillance Unit, we transform raw data into actionable public health insight by integrating, processing, curating and analysing genomic surveillance sequence data.

About us

We are a group of bioinformaticians, data scientists, and data engineers who create the software, data processing pipelines, analysis workflows, and reports that make genomic data available for public health decision making. A key driver for our team is the delivery of actionable data in real time, and we are passionate about creating efficient, reliable and well-engineered products and processes.

Our work

Our work spans bioinformatics, data curation, engineering, and analysis. We are product-oriented and our approach focuses on agile delivery. Working across surveillance streams and disease areas in the Genomic Surveillance Unit, we:

  • Develop and maintain robust, high-quality bioinformatics data-processing pipelines and apply them to large genomic datasets to deliver analysis-ready data to partners.
  • Perform in-depth analysis on genomic datasets to address questions posed by public health programmes, and drive methodological improvements of our laboratory and analytical workflows.
  • Collaborate in the creation of high-quality data resources (like Pf7 for malaria parasites) that are impactful for both public health and act as a foundation for discovery research.
  • Develop highly scalable tools and processes that import and standardise data from dozens of external sources, enabling seamless integration with sequence data generated by the GSU.
  • Develop efficient data upload tools and processes for submission of GSU data to key public genomic data repositories (e.g. the European Nucleotide Archive).

Core team

Photo of Bruhad Dave

Bruhad Dave

Bioinformatician

Photo of Katherine Figueroa

Katherine Figueroa

Principal Bioinformatician

Photo of Dr Matthew Forbes

Dr Matthew Forbes

Principal Bioinformatician

Photo of Andrea Frick-Kretschmer

Andrea Frick-Kretschmer

Senior Bioinformatician

Photo of Tom Maddison

Tom Maddison

Bioinformatician

Photo of Dr Frank Schwach

Dr Frank Schwach

Principal Bioinformatician

Photo of Mr Christiaan Gerhardus Viljoen

Mr Christiaan Gerhardus Viljoen

Principal Data Engineer

Photo of Dr Antonio Marinho da Silva Neto

Dr Antonio Marinho da Silva Neto

Senior Bioinformatician

Previous core team members

Photo of Dr Kim Judge

Dr Kim Judge

Bioinformatician

Photo of Naga Morisetti

Naga Morisetti

Principal Data Engineer

Photo of Mr Simon Suddaby

Mr Simon Suddaby

Bioinformatician