Changes in EMBL-EBI leadership

As EMBL’s Director General Edith Heard steps down at the end of March 2025, the organisation will subsequently – and until the appointment of EMBL’s next Director General – be led by Peer Bork as Interim Director General and Ewan Birney as Interim Executive Director. 

As a result of this, Ewan Birney will step away from his role as EMBL-EBI’s Director for the interim period. Effective from 31 March 2025, Jo McEntyre, EMBL-EBI’s Deputy Director, will become Interim Director of EMBL-EBI. 

“Jo’s deep understanding of EMBL-EBI’s missions and her commitment to supporting the global bioinformatics community make her ideally suited to lead the institute during this important period,” said Ewan Birney.

This transition will ensure continuity of scientific activities and day-to-day operations at the institute. Under McEntyre’s leadership, EMBL-EBI will remain committed to its missions:

• provide freely available data and bioinformatics services
• contribute to the advancement of biology through computational research
• provide advanced bioinformatics training to scientists at all levels
• help disseminate cutting-edge technologies to industry
• support biological data provision throughout Europe and beyond

“I am deeply honoured to serve as Interim Director of EMBL-EBI,” said Jo McEntyre. “I look forward to working closely with our talented teams to drive EMBL-EBI’s strategic goals forward. Together, we will continue to strengthen our global data resources, support cutting-edge research, and foster international collaboration.”