Barend Mons

Barend Mons is a molecular biologist by training (PhD Leiden University 1986) He spent over 15 years in malaria research in close collaboration with endemic countries. After that he gained expe- rience in computer-assisted knowledge discovery, which is still his research focus. He spent time with the European Commission as a Seconded National Expert with the INCO-DC pogramme (1993-1996) and with the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO 1966-1999). Barend also co-founded several spin off companies. In 2000 he founded the Biosemantics group in Rotterdam and later also in Leiden. Currently , Barend is Professor in Biosemantics at the Human Genetics department of Leiden University Medical Center. He was also the first Head of Node for ELIXIR-NL at the Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences (until 2015), is Integrator Life Sciences at the Nether- lands eScience Center, and board member of the Leiden Centre of Data Science. In 2014, Barend initiated the FAIR data initiative and in 2015, he was appointed Chair of the European Commission's High Level Expert Group for the “European Open Science Cloud”, from which he retired by the end of 2016. Pres- ently, Barend is co-leading the GO FAIR initiative, an initiative to kick start developments towards the Internet of FAIR data and services, which will also contribute to the implementation of components of the European Open Science Cloud.