EchoHEALTH is an ERA Chair project developed at the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre (BMC). It was submitted under the Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence call of the EU’s Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, where it received an above-threshold rating – a recognition of its scientific merit and strategic relevance.

ERA Chair projects aim to attract high-level researchers to universities or research centres, thereby increasing their research capacity. Within ERA Chair projects, new research teams are established and are fully integrated in the coordinator’s institution to significantly improve its research performance in a scientific domain of choice.

The EchoHEALTH project implemented by BMC is led by ERA Chair Alvis Brāzma – an experienced and world-renowned researcher in the field of bioinformatics who has spent almost 30 years of his career as a scientist at EMBL-EBI (EMBL European Bioinformatics Institute).

Under his leadership, the BMC is expected to establish a new scientific group that will include bioinformaticians and data scientists, as well as to establish One Health Informatics Centre (OHIC), which will significantly contribute to innovation excellence at BMC.