Open data as the foundation of interdisciplinary research – interview with Francesca Morello

If you could choose one way to advance opening data (regardless of costs), what would it be? Francesca Morello would choose data stewards as part of every research group: ”Data steward, as an expert professional, would be capable to support researchers’ choices on daily bases and could help them promote the optimal reuse of their data: both positive results but also negative findings.” Morello is one of the speakers at the webinar event ”What it takes: Open your research data” that takes place on 25 March 2021.

Francesca Morello is a Customer Liaison Officer at the CSC – IT Center for Science that hosts the ELIXIR Node in Finland. Morello is also one of the speakers at the webinar event ”What it takes: Open your research data” that takes place on 25 March 2021.

In this interview, Morello talks about data stewards and open data promoting research – both through positive results and negative findings.

Francesca Morello, could you tell shortly about yourself and your work related to open data?

”I work as Customer Liaison Officer for the Sensitive Data Services in CSC, the Finnish IT Center for Science. We are developing tools and services to analyse, share and publish sensitive data. CSC is also part of ELIXIR, a European infrastructure that supports life science research and it is facilitating a distributed network of repositories for sharing human -omics data and phenotypes (Federated European Genome-phenome Archive).”

When data are open and reproducible, researchers can build on previous knowledge, achieve more diverse conversations across research fields and make unexpected discoveries.

What do you see as the greatest benefit of opening research data?

”Open research data is the foundation of interdisciplinary research. When data are open and reproducible, researchers can build on previous knowledge, achieve more diverse conversations across research fields and make unexpected discoveries.”

If you would have one wish that would advance opening data (regardless of costs), what would it be?

”I wish every research group had a data steward as part of their team. In this way the data steward, as an expert professional, would be capable to support researchers’ choices on daily bases and could help them promote the optimal reuse of their data: both positive results but also negative findings. In this way, no knowledge would be ever lost and future generations would be able to learn and build also based on current mistakes.”

Open access data sharing has accelerated COVID-19 research: in less than one year, researchers were able to understand the biology and transmission of a new virus, find the optimal medications and build effective vaccines.

How do citizens benefit from open research data, give an example?

”Open data sharing promotes research. Biomedical research’s results are then translated in medications and cures. Open access data sharing has accelerated COVID-19 research: in less than one year, researchers were able to understand the biology and transmission of a new virus, find the optimal medications and build effective vaccines. Never before scientists have been able to work together and so quickly to fight a new disease.”

Interview series on open data (#Datarepo2021):