High-performance computing infrastructure

Advances in genomics, single-cell technologies, and data science have driven exponential increases in data volumes, creating an urgent need for scalable computational resources. 

We have significant infrastructure to support our strategic research programmes, our collaborators and research partners, and the wider UK life science community by providing access to services, tools and compute resources for both technical and non-technical users.

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The Earlham Institute cloud infrastructure plays a critical role in enabling high-quality, novel, and transformative research across biosciences, by supporting data access and leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). 

The EI Cloud platform provides critical digital research infrastructure to enable open, FAIR, and collaborative data science, with reliable and scalable computational resources.

Cloud computing, and the integration of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), supports the Earlham Institute, its partner institutions, and the wider UK biosciences community in delivering cutting-edge data-intensive science in areas such as cellular genomics, microbial diversity, and sustainable agriculture. 

These systems not only support world-leading research but also provide valuable training opportunities for the broader scientific community, offering hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools and services. 

Advances in genomics, single-cell technologies, and data science have driven exponential increases in data volumes, creating an urgent need for scalable computational resources. 

The Earlham Institute’s Cloud infrastructure currently hosts vital web services for the UK bioscience community, including:

• COPO - a data portal used by large biodiversity projects, like the UK Darwin Tree of Life and the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA), for managing sample tracking and data flow.
• Grassroots Infrastructure - allowing the standardisation and analysis of crop data such as treatments, trait measurements and phenotypes.
• MARTi - a software package for performing real-time analysis of metagenomic samples using nanopore sequencing.
• LotuS2 - a complete amplicon sequencing pipeline for microbial biodiversity analysis.

The Advanced Training programme at the Earlham Institute delivers high-quality, specialist training and development opportunities to the UK and international research community. 

EI Cloud underpins our computational courses, such as Nanopore Metagenomics, Genome Annotation, Detection of DNA Base Modification, and Single-Cell RNASeq workshops, which depend on the availability of flexible, high-performance cloud resources provided by our cloud computing infrastructure.