Physicists at ELTE help to share data related to the coronavirus

15.05.2020.

On 20 April, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, announced the launch of the COVID-19 Data Platform created by an international collaboration of researchers, including physicists at the ELTE Faculty of Science. The database has been established to monitor the pandemic more effectively and to accelerate the development of new therapeutic and preventive solutions.

In her speech, Ursula von der Leyen emphasised that there are numerous research groups around the world that are tirelessly studying the new coronavirus, but the goal can only be achieved through joint efforts, with cross-border and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Recognizing this, the European Commission has launched the COVID-19 Data Platform together with the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and leading European research institutions, including Eötvös Loránd University.

Visual representation of the European COVID-19 Data Platform (Spencer Phillips/EMBL-EBI)

ELTE is represented by a research group led by Professor István Csabai at the Department of Physics of Complex Systems in the development of the portal. The platform enables the sharing and analysis of data related to the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), facilitating thus international collaboration, more effective monitoring of the pandemic, as well as the development of new treatments and vaccines.

In addition to genomic, proteomic, and microscopic data, the COVID-19 Data Platform also collects scientific publications on the virus. The portal will continue to be updated in the future so that researchers can share and analyse their data more easily.