Dr Kathryn Hall1, Mr Matt Andrews1, Mr Peter Brenton1, Mr Jack Brinkman1, Ms Keeva Connolly2, Mr Christopher Mangion1, Ms Winnie Mok2, Ms Sarah Richmond3, Mr Goran Sterjov1, Dr Nigel Ward2
1Atlas of Living Australia, CSIRO, Australia, 2Australian BioCommons, Australia, 3Bioplatforms Australia, Australia
Biography:
Kathryn Hall: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8785-4513
Dr Kathryn Hall leads the Australian Reference Genome Atlas (ARGA), a national platform advancing the discoverability and strategic use of genomic data for Australia’s biodiversity. Based at the Atlas of Living Australia (CSIRO), she brings a background in taxonomy and systematics to her work, which lies at the intersection of biodiversity science and digital research infrastructure. Dr Hall has extensive experience in research management, data governance, and cross-sector collaboration, and is committed to building platforms that support transparency, provenance, and data FAIRness. Her current focus is on delivering tools that enable genomic data to inform research, policy, and national priorities.
Abstract:
It is a truth universally ignored, that most species are unindexed, unsequenced, and utterly underloved. The Australian Reference Genome Atlas (ARGA) soothes this iniquity by offering a dashboard where being findable is the height of virtue. This year, we launched Genome Tracker, the first national dashboard showing the completeness of genomic data across Australia’s biodiversity. It marks a significant milestone for ARGA, meeting a long-standing community need for visibility of what has (and hasn’t) been sequenced.
To crave indulgence from Mr Wilde: to lose one genome may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose an entire phylum looks like carelessness. With ARGA’s new Genome Tracker, users can explore sequencing gaps and strengths across key biodiversity groups, including mammals, birds, and reptiles, through compelling, bespoke visualisations. Powered by a comprehensive backend index, Genome Tracker immediately highlights which lineages have strong representation and which are under-sequenced (or entirely missing). Tracker also highlights 30 pivotal milestones through a unique narrative timeline, complete with links to genomes and source publications.
Targeting researchers, policy-makers and funders, and leveraging the unified view of Australia’s biodiversity served by the Atlas of Living Australia, Genome Tracker is the first tool of its kind to deliver auditable, verifiable baseline data about the progress of genomic sequencing efforts for continent-scale biodiversity. Built as a stand-alone feature within ARGA, it supports planning, transparency, and data-driven prioritisation for future sequencing campaigns. This release affirms ARGA as a next-generation data platform – more than a metadata aggregator, it drives insight and generates momentum.