Our mission
CLIMB exists to democratise access to cutting-edge computational resources for all bioinformaticians, no matter their career level. We aim to accelerate scientific discovery by providing researchers with the infrastructure, tools and support needed to analyse their data efficiently and effectively.
Our history
CLIMB was launched in 2014 with initial funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) as MRC-CLIMB (Cloud Infrastructure for Microbial Bioinformatics), established to address the growing computational needs of microbial genomics researchers. Following its success, CLIMB-BIG-DATA was awarded additional funding to expand its capabilities and serve the broader microbial bioinformatics community.
For over a decade, CLIMB has supported research in microbial genomics, including pivotal contributions to pathogen surveillance during disease outbreaks and ongoing public health initiatives — most visibly as the infrastructure behind the UK’s COVID-19 genomic surveillance effort.
In 2025, CLIMB entered a new phase of growth and sustainability, consolidating its position as a reference point for bioinformatic research and surveillance in the UK and expanding its services to reach a global audience.
Our team
CLIMB is led by an experienced team of researchers and computational experts from the University of Birmingham and the Quadram Institute Bioscience.
Our governance
CLIMB is governed by a multi-tiered structure to ensure responsible management, scientific relevance and user-focused development:
- Operational Committee
Strategic oversight, with representatives from key partner institutions - Project Management Team
Day-to-day operations and implementation - Technical Operations Team
Maintains and develops the infrastructure
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