A world leading data visualisation expert talks about leading the global Human Reference Atlas initiative and how collaboration enables researchers to think far bigger
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“Oftentimes it's said that if you want to go fast, you go alone, but I don't think you can go far this way. If you want to go far, you have to go together.”
So states Katy Börner during this episode of Campus Talks, in which we ask her about her ground-breaking project aimed at mapping all the anatomical structures and human cells in the human body, the Human Reference Atlas (HRA).
This project relies on the input of thousands of researchers across multiple disciplines from all over the world, including several other ambitious physiological ‘atlasing’ efforts which are working in parallel to the HRA.
The Victor H. Yngve Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Information Science at Indiana University, Katy is also a founding director of the Cyberinfrastructure for Network Science (CNS) Center and she is a curator of the international Places & Spaces: Mapping Science exhibition.
She explains how she developed such an interest in data visualisation work and why she has embraced an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to research throughout her career.
To find out more about the Human Reference Atlas:
Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP): 3D Human Reference Atlas construction and usage
Human Reference Atlas introduction and training
Upcoming events for those interested in the Human Reference Atlas
Whole Person Physiome Jamboree, August 24 to 25, 2026
Human Reference Atlas, Human Phenotype Ontology, Whole Person Physiome and other EU efforts hackathon, August 27 to 28.
To book a place at the Innovation & Impact Summit 2026 in Seoul from 17 to 19 November: Book tickets | THE Innovation & Impact Summit 2026.
