Sabina Leonelli

Biography

I am Chair of Philosophy and History of Science and Technology at the Technical University of Munich, where I direct the Ethical Data Initiative and co-direct the TUM Public Science Lab. Until 2024 I was Professor of Philosophy and History of Science, Director of the Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences (Egenis, 2013-2024) and lead of research on “Data Governance, Openness and Ethics” for the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (IDSAI) at the University of Exeter, where I hold a Honorary Professorship. I pursue an approach to philosophy of science that is grounded on the empirical study of scientific practices, as informed by historical and ethnographic methods used in the social and anthropological studies of science and technology; and interested in translating academic research into policy-relevant information. My research focus is on the philosophy of Open Science and diverse research environments, as well as the ways in which ‘big data’ science, particularly in biological and biomedical research, affects processes of knowledge production, collaboration and funding. This research is relevant to understanding how digital technologies and forms of collaborations such as global networks affect scientific knowledge production and governance in the long term. From 2015 to 2017 I have led the Open Science working group of the Global Young Academy, and represented the GYA on the Open Science Policy Platform of the European Commission (2016-2019). In 2012 and 2013, I coordinated the GYA position statements on open science and globalisation of research; in 2016, I co-chaired the production of the Open Data Position Statement by the GYA and European Young Academies; and in 2018, I co-authored the GYA Statement on Plan S, and continue to engage with implementation issues confronted by Coalition S. I regularly advise  plant and biomedical scientists about their policies and practices concerning data infrastructures and re-use. From 2014 to 2019, I led an ERC Starting Grant on The Epistemology of Data-Intensive Science (DATA_SCIENCE), and from 2021 to 2026, I lead an ERC Consolidator Grant “A Philosophy of Open Science for Diverse Research Environments” (PHIL_OS).

Awards