About Us
The Big Data Institute (BDI) is an interdisciplinary research institute that focuses on the analysis of large, complex, heterogeneous data sets for research into the causes and consequences, prevention and treatment of disease. Big Data methods are transforming the scale (breadth, depth and duration) and efficiency (data accumulation, storage, processing and dissemination) of large-scale clinical research. The work of the BDI requires people and projects that span traditional departmental boundaries and scientific disciplines, supported by technical resources to handle the vast quantities of data they generate.
Facilities
The BDI is housed in a new building on the Oxford University Old Road Campus and provides core facilities in high performance research computing.
Staff
The BDI comprises 35 group leaders and 350 staff drawn from a wide range of departments and forms an analytical hub, deeply connected to the wider experimental and clinical community in Oxford and beyond. BDI researchers work on data acquisition, curation, computation and analysis pipelines (either in specific medical domains or on more general methodological and technical innovations), as well as in relevant areas of ethics, governance and policy. There are opportunities for joint recruitment with departments from across the range of scientific areas.
Key Funders
The Big Data Institute received capital funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England now UK Research and Innovation, the Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation, and the Robertson Foundation.
Partnerships
The BDI plays a central role in Oxford's collaborations with the NHS, including the Academic Health Science Centre and the Biomedical Research Centre.