Peter Marendy has joined QCIF in the role of Head of Data Services.
The Data Services team is an expansion of QCIF’s BioData activities into other research domains, such as health, with a broader scope including the provision of managed services, such as platforms for sensitive data, as well as the development of dashboards and specialised research data portals.
Peter has 20 years of software engineering experience across multiple domains in research and innovation environments.
He joins QCIF from CSIRO where he was Research Team Leader of its Microsystems team for 3.5 years and prior to that, a Senior Engineer for almost 11 years.
Before joining CSIRO, Peter worked at QCIF Member James Cook University, at first as a Computer Systems Officer in the Information Technology and Resources Office, and later as a Project Officer in its high-performance computing division. In the latter role, Peter collaborated with QCIF to provide researchers with web-based access to bioinformatics packages on grid-enabled computing infrastructure.
“Having worked with QCIF prior to my time at CSIRO, I understood what QCIF does and what it is aiming to achieve,” said Peter. “I feel that the diverse nature of QCIF and the valuable services that it provides to research and industry partners makes it an interesting and rewarding place to work, learn and grow.
“I would like to see Data Services expand its scope and provide impact to a greater range of partners while strengthening its current base. The provision of these services will accelerate data-driven outcomes, bringing benefits to the broader community sooner.”
QCIF Bioinformatics Director Dr Dominique (Dom) Gorse said: “Peter brings expertise in computing, software engineering and data management with a passion for making things work for users.
“He will play an important role in guiding the continuing efforts toward the establishment of QCIF’s Data Analytics Platform and its customisation to meet the research data needs of our Members.”
QCIF’s Data Analytics Platform brings together the compute, data storage, software and specialised research platforms—as well as training and support—needed for delivering high-quality, data-centric research in Queensland.
QCIF CEO John Bancroft said: “I’m delighted to have Peter join us and bring his experience and skills to help us deliver excellent support to our Members’ researchers.”
Peter has almost completed a PhD in Computer Science with the University of Tasmania that he has been working on part-time and remotely from Brisbane.
He has a Bachelor of Computing (Honours) from JCU and a Graduate Certificate of Research from the University of Tasmania.
To discuss how QCIF Data Services can help your research, please contact Peter: peter.marendy@qcif.edu.au.