Biography
Professor Erik Bongcam-Rudloff is an internationally recognised bioinformatician whose work has contributed substantially to the development of bioinformatics infrastructures, global scientific collaboration, and international training initiatives in computational life sciences.
He is Professor of Bioinformatics at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, Sweden, where his research focuses on genomics, computational biology, and data-driven approaches to agricultural and environmental life sciences.
Over several decades Professor Bongcam-Rudloff has played a prominent role in shaping the international bioinformatics landscape. His contributions span scientific research, infrastructure development, international capacity building, and global scientific networking. Through his work he has helped establish collaborative platforms and training initiatives that enable researchers worldwide to analyse complex biological datasets generated by modern high-throughput technologies.
Profile Highlights
- Professor of Bioinformatics at SLU, Uppsala
- Internationally recognised in bioinformatics infrastructure development
- Leader in European and global scientific collaboration
- Extensive experience in education, mentorship, and capacity building
- Contributor to major international projects and training platforms
Career Timeline
Entered the doctoral program in medical sciences and began research in molecular mechanisms involved in neurological diseases and cancer biology.
Completed doctoral research including molecular characterisation of GFAP in glioma cell lines, contributing to understanding astrocyte biology and tumour heterogeneity.
Contributed to establishing Sweden’s early bioinformatics research capacity through a joint initiative between Uppsala University and SLU.
Led one of the earliest international bioinformatics networks and contributed to international scientific coordination and training.
Qualified to supervise doctoral students and lead independent research programs.
Integrated bioinformatics approaches into agricultural and veterinary research within the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics.
Led a European network addressing computational challenges in next-generation sequencing data analysis.
Expanded bioinformatics infrastructures to agriculture, environmental genomics, and microbial systems biology.
Linked European and African biobanking infrastructures through shared informatics frameworks.
Appointed Professor of Bioinformatics at the Department of Animal Biosciences and continued leadership in infrastructure and training.
Returned to leadership in EMBnet, reinforcing international collaboration and scientific networking.
Education and Early Scientific Formation ⌄
Professor Bongcam-Rudloff studied biological sciences at Uppsala University, one of Europe’s oldest and most respected research universities. During the 1980s he developed a strong interest in molecular genetics and the emerging role of computational methods in biological research.
In 1987 he entered the doctoral program in medical sciences at Uppsala University. His doctoral work was conducted at the Department of Pathology at Uppsala University Hospital and focused on molecular mechanisms involved in neurological diseases and cancer biology.
He received his Doctor of Medical Sciences degree in 1995. His doctoral research included molecular characterisation of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in glioma cell lines, contributing to understanding astrocyte biology and tumour heterogeneity in neurological disease.
These early investigations in molecular biology laid the foundation for a research trajectory that later expanded toward computational genomics and bioinformatics infrastructure development.
Academic Career and Infrastructure Leadership ⌄
Following completion of his doctoral studies, Professor Bongcam-Rudloff increasingly focused on computational biology during a period when genome sequencing and high-throughput molecular technologies were transforming life-science research.
From 2000 to 2004 he served as Assistant Professor at the Linnaeus Centre for Bioinformatics, a joint initiative between Uppsala University and SLU that played an important role in establishing Sweden’s early bioinformatics research capacity.
Between 2008 and 2017 he served as Associate Professor at SLU within the Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, where he contributed to integrating bioinformatics approaches into agricultural and veterinary research.
In 2017 he was appointed Professor of Bioinformatics at SLU, joining the Department of Animal Biosciences.
Professor Bongcam-Rudloff was pivotal in the creation of the SLU Bioinformatics Infrastructure (SLUBI) and the SLU Global Bioinformatics Centre, which provide computational expertise and support for genomics and data-intensive life-science research across multiple disciplines.
He also contributed to Sweden’s national bioinformatics infrastructure through BILS and later NBIS, serving on governance structures and chairing the NBIS Reference Group.
European Research Infrastructure ⌄
Professor Bongcam-Rudloff has been actively involved in the development of European bioinformatics infrastructures.
He served as work package leader in the EU FP6 project EMBRACE (European Model for Bioinformatics Research and Community Education), which integrated distributed bioinformatics tools, databases, and services across Europe.
The collaborative frameworks and technological standards developed within EMBRACE contributed to the establishment of ELIXIR, the European research infrastructure coordinating biological data resources across Europe.
Through this work he contributed to early efforts aimed at creating interoperable infrastructures for life-science data and computational resources.
Major International Research Projects ⌄
EMBRACE (EU FP6)
Role: Work Package Leader
An early European initiative integrating distributed bioinformatics resources and contributing to the foundations of ELIXIR.
EUROKUP (COST Action BM0702)
Role: Work Package Leader
A European network focused on proteomics and biomarker discovery for kidney diseases.
DEANN (EU FP7)
Role: Swedish PI
A European–Latin American network studying genome variation and gene expression using next-generation sequencing technologies.
The project contributed to the development of widely used bioinformatics tools including Qualimap, Paintomics, and SQANTI.
ALLBIO (EU FP7)
Role: Coordinator
Expanded bioinformatics infrastructures to agriculture, environmental genomics, and microbial systems biology.
SeqAhead (COST Action)
Role: Chair
A European network addressing computational challenges in next-generation sequencing data analysis.
CHARME (COST Action)
Role: Grant Holder
Focused on improving standardisation strategies in European life-science research.
B3Africa (Horizon 2020)
Role: Coordinator
Linked European and African biobanking infrastructures through shared informatics frameworks.
ML4Microbiome (COST Action)
Role: Representative for Sweden
Develops statistical and machine-learning methods for microbiome research.
Bioinformatics Platforms and Software Development ⌄
- eBiotools — a curated distribution of bioinformatics software simplifying installation and deployment of computational biology tools.
- eBioX — a graphical bioinformatics environment integrating genomic databases and distributed annotation systems.
- eBioKit — a portable bioinformatics training environment used in workshops across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, enabling hands-on bioinformatics training even in regions with limited internet connectivity.
Scientific Leadership and International Organizations ⌄
Professor Bongcam-Rudloff has held leadership roles in several international scientific organisations.
He served as chairman of EMBnet, the international bioinformatics network, from 2003 to 2010 and again since 2021.
- International Society for Computational Biology
- Global Organisation for Bioinformatics Learning, Education and Training (GOBLET)
Teaching, Mentorship and Global Training ⌄
Education and capacity building have been central elements of Professor Bongcam-Rudloff’s career.
He has supervised numerous doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers at institutions including:
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Uppsala University
- Linnaeus University
- University of Colombo
He was also part of the team that created MedBioInfo – The Swedish National Graduate School in Medical Bioinformatics.
Professor Bongcam-Rudloff serves on the advisory board of the Eastern Africa Network for Bioinformatics Training (EANBiT) supported by the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center under the H3Africa programme.
He also served as mentor for the development of the Master of Science in Bioinformatics programme at the Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Colombo.
Through these activities he has contributed to the training of bioinformaticians across multiple continents.
Scientific Impact and Metrics ⌄
Professor Bongcam-Rudloff has authored and co-authored approximately 300 scientific publications in bioinformatics, genomics, and computational biology.
- Citations: more than 6,000
- h-index: approximately 41
His work has contributed to advances in:
- bioinformatics infrastructure development
- next-generation sequencing analysis
- microbial community genomics
- genomic data integration and visualisation
- computational approaches in agricultural and environmental genomics
Editorial and Scientific Service ⌄
Professor Bongcam-Rudloff has served on editorial boards and as reviewer for several international journals, including:
- Scientific Data (Nature Portfolio)
- New Biotechnology (Elsevier)
- Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics (Oxford Academic)
- Genes (MDPI)
- International Journal of Epigenetics (Spandidos Publications)
- Frontiers Media journals
- Journal of Molecular Biochemistry
He has also contributed editorial leadership to EMBnet.journal.
Institution-Building and Global Scientific Impact ⌄
Beyond individual research contributions, Professor Bongcam-Rudloff’s career has had a significant impact on the development of international bioinformatics infrastructures and collaborative networks.
His work has contributed to the establishment and strengthening of:
- EMBnet, one of the earliest international bioinformatics networks
- European bioinformatics infrastructures that helped pave the way for ELIXIR
- NBIS, Sweden’s national bioinformatics infrastructure
- international bioinformatics training networks across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Through these initiatives he has helped shape the global ecosystem of bioinformatics collaboration, training, and infrastructure, enabling researchers worldwide to participate in data-intensive life-science research.