A visualisation of the collections data available through the Museum's Data Portal, with the height of each bar corresponding to the number of georeferenced collections from that location © Ben Scott, the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
Researching undiscovered diversity using big data
Our work
The diversity and informatics team works across the Museum to support a range of digital and data science activities, including the digitisation of Museum collections and development of the Museum's Data Portal, making the collections and research data available to a global audience.
Much of our work leverages the Museum's digital skills, infrastructure and collections to link up global collections data, addressing some of the big biodiversity challenges facing science and society.
In addition to the core informatics group, the division is home to the:
- Purvis and Palma Lab, predicting the impacts of environmental change on the natural world
- Vogler Lab, developing genomic approaches to characterise complex communities; research on microbial diversity and phylogenetic modelling
- Museum's Molecular Collections Facility, headed by Jackie Mackenzie Dodds.
News from the group
-
Press releaseScientists rack up record downloads from the NHM Data Portal during lockdown
During the month of May 2020, during lockdown, a staggering 379.96M records in 7,328 datasets were downloaded from the Natural History Museum’s Data Portal
11 June 2020 -
Science newsDigitising the louse collection: we’ve been itching to tell you more
The Museum has digitised its collection of more than 70,000 parasitic lice.
7 February 2018 -
NewsVast biodiversity database now available to all
Scientists have a new 'big data' tool to study how human activity affects the planet's biodiversity, with the publication of a gigantic database that compiles studies from across the globe.
21 December 2016 -
NewsProject to sequence genomes of all UK life receives over £9 million in funding
The project will give new insights into many aspects of the UK's wildlife.
8 November 2019
Our projects
Digital collections
We are digitising the 80 million specimens in the Museum's collections and providing open access to the digital data through our Data Portal.
Data Portal
Explore and download the Museum’s research and collections data.
Molecular collections
The molecular collection is a state-of-the-art facility designed to safeguard the world’s genetic material for future research.
Ciliate taxonomy and diversity
We are focusing our research on the systematics and diversity of free-living ciliates, particularly marine and brackish forms in costal waters.
Site-based integrative analysis of biodiversity in tropical rainforests
Site-based integrative analysis of biodiversity in tropical rainforests.
Breaking the taxonomic barrier
Museum scientists are using new genomic technologies to rapidly assess biodiversity in complex and changing ecosystems.
DiSSCO UK
The UK holds some of the world’s most significant natural science collections, including the 80 million items in the collections of the Natural History Museum.
SYNTHESYS+
SYNTHESYS+ is a European Commission funded project, creating an integrated European infrastructure for natural history collections.
DiSSCo
Distributed System of Scientific Collections provides hard evidence of our planet’s natural diversity.
Supporting research
Scratchpads
Biodiversity online.
Mosquito Taxonomic Inventory
The Mosquito Taxonomic Inventory (MTI) is an up-to-date, authoritative resource on the global diversity of family Culicidae.
PREDICTS
The PREDICTS database is full of raw biodiversity data, not just summary statistics. For most studies, we know the number of individuals found of each species at each site.
The diversity and informatics team
Diversity and informatics staff
- Dr Vincent Smith, Research Leader Informatics; Head of Division
- Ginger Butcher, Software Engineer
- Lisa French, Data Analyst
- Josh Humphries, Technical Lead
- Paul Kiddle, Software Engineer
- Mr Ben Scott, Technical Lead
- Matt Woodburn, Science Data Architect
- Sarah Vincent, Data Analyst
Digital Collections
- Helen Hardy, Manager, Digital Collections
- Louise Allan, Senior Digitiser, Digital Collections
- Robyn Crowther, Digitiser
- Lizzy Devenish, Digitiser
- Phaedra Kokkini, Digitiser
- Laurence Livermore, Innovation Manager
- Krisztina Lohonya, Digitiser
- Nicola Lowndes, Digitiser
- Peter Wing, Digitiser
Vogler lab
- Alfried Vogler, Professor of Molecular Systematics
- Liam Penlington, Project Assistant, EC iBioGen
Molecular Collections
- Jacqueline Mackenzie-Dodds, Molecular Collections Facility Manager
- Heather Allen, Molecular Sample Curator Darwin Tree of Life
- Kirsty Lloyd, Technician, BBSRC Molecular Collection
- Georgia Ward, Postdoctoral Researcher, GCRF Global Seaweeds
Other members
- Thomas Creedy, Postdoctoral Researcher iBioGen
- Peter Foster, Researcher, Molecular Biology Computing Officer
- Alan Warren, Researcher
Read more
-
Press releaseNatural History Museum reveals the world has crashed through the ‘safe limit for humanity’ for biodiversity loss
Natural History Museum analysis has revealed that the UK has only 53% of its biodiversity left.
11 October 2021 -
AnthropoceneThe fight to save the world's ecosystems
Deforestation has slashed species diversity in ecosystems on land. But how can we stop further losses?
-
Science newsNature 'unravels' as animal populations plummet
Animal populations have declined by 68% since 1970.
10 September 2020 -
NewsBreakthrough DNA study could slow big cat extinction
New research into lion genes could help scientists boost numbers.
11 April 2014
