We are EMBL: Jana Broecker on building bridges between industry and academia
How EMBL-EBI is building public-private partnerships and knowledge exchange opportunities between industry and academia
As biology becomes increasingly more data-driven, collaborations between academia and industry enable the translation of complex data into new discoveries. One of EMBL’s missions is to increase the societal impact of our work by engaging in technology transfer with the private sector through a number of avenues, including EMBLEM, the technology transfer partner and commercial arm of the EMBL, and the EMBL-EBI Industry Programme.
EMBL-EBI’s Industry Partnerships team facilitates bioinformatics collaborations and knowledge exchange with the commercial sector. Jana Broecker joined the team in 2025 as a Senior Scientific Officer, dedicated to supporting the Industry Programme and developing new partnership opportunities between EMBL-EBI and the private sector.
Tell me a little bit about your background.
I earned a degree in biotechnology engineering, then did a PhD in biophysics and a postdoc in structural biology, before moving into industry, where I worked for Nxera Pharma. Over the years, I led projects and collaborations across different teams and organisations. Along the way, I’ve lived and worked in Germany, Canada, and the UK. My international background helps me connect easily with people across disciplines and cultures.
When did you first find out about EMBL-EBI and what attracted you to the role?
I spoke at an EMBL workshop in Hamburg during my postdoc and, since moving to Cambridge eight years ago, I have heard great things about EMBL-EBI. The role that came up in the Industry Partnerships team was the perfect fit for me and combines everything I care about: connecting people, enabling collaboration, and helping turn science into real-world solutions.
What does the Industry Partnerships team do?
We’re a small, friendly team, helping EMBL-EBI and industry work together to tackle shared data challenges. You could think of us as ‘matchmakers’ who bring together the right people from both sides to address shared challenges in bioinformatics and data sciences. What makes this so valuable is that it helps accelerate innovation, not just for our industry partners but also for EMBL-EBI and the wider scientific community, all while reducing duplication of effort.
What is the Industry Programme and what are its objectives?
The Industry Programme is a subscription-based membership for companies in pharma, biotech, agritech, and beyond. It gives members early access to EMBL-EBI insights, helps shape key data resources, and supports collaboration.
The main objectives are to build bridges: between academia and industry, between industry members, and between sectors that are all navigating the same data challenges. We do this by creating knowledge exchange opportunities for our members, including workshops on cutting-edge technologies and shared challenges.
What are the benefits of the Industry Programme for its members?
Each year, we co-create ten tailored workshops with and for our partners on topics that interest them. We also run quarterly strategy and engagement meetings that offer members early insights into resource development at EMBL-EBI. Our Industry Programme members are an important part of our user community. We always want to hear feedback from all our users, to ensure the data resources we maintain are relevant and address user needs.
Members can also join collaborative projects to tackle shared data challenges and engage across the network, strengthening their visibility, trust, and reputation within the well-curated, trusted ecosystem of the Industry Programme.
What are some of the key focuses for the coming year?
The Agri-Tech Partnership is a new initiative that brings together EMBL-EBI and private partners to drive sustainable innovation in agriculture. With six members already on board and a successful pilot project completed, the Agri-Tech Partnership has several more initiatives in the pipeline.
The idea grew out of a joint effort by our team, together with EMBL-EBI’s Non-Vertebrate Genomics Team Leader Sarah Dyer, and EMBLEM colleagues who are responsible for identifying, protecting, and commercialising intellectual property and discoveries developed at EMBL.
The initiative is inspired by Open Targets, another public-private partnership that emerged from EMBL-EBI’s Industry Programme and which focuses on drug target identification and prioritisation.
While the AgriTech Partnership is separate from the Industry Programme, it follows the same principles: pre-competitive collaboration, open science, shared tools, and joint efforts to solve real-world challenges.
What do you do in your spare time?
I coach a local under-10s boys football team, which is great fun and my way to give back to the community. I also write and publish children’s books and love running, painting with watercolours, and chilling at home with my family and our cat Boris (aka Boris Handsome).
