Scott Edmunds

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alt="ICG-15 GigaScience Prize" />
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*We are proud to announce Prof Zhang Yongzhen winner the 2020 ICG-15
GigaScience Prize for Outstanding Data Sharing during the COVID-19
Pandemic*. *Last month was the 10th consecutive year we've attended our
co-publisher BGI's annual ICG (International Conference on Genomics)
gathering, and the third time we have presented a prize at the meeting.*

This years award was for Dr. Zhang's outstanding efforts in sharing the
first whole genome sequence of the deadly COVID-19 virus on January 5th,
2020. While immediate sharing of genetic data from an incredibly
dangerous, very infectious virus might seem the obvious thing to do:
scientist's ability to get funding and career advancement has, for
decades, been predicated on who is first to publish --- not on who is
first to help people.

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sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" width="768" height="512"
alt="Zhang Yongzhen" />
<figcaption><em>Prof Zhang receiving the GigaScience ICG-15 prize from
GigaScience Assistant Editor Hongling Zhao and BGI co-founder Prof
Huanming Yang.</em> <em>Picture: GigaScience, CC-BY.</em></figcaption>
</figure>

This years award was for Dr. Zhang's outstanding efforts in sharing the
first whole genome sequence of the deadly COVID-19 virus on January 5th,
2020. While immediate sharing of genetic data from an incredibly
dangerous, very infectious virus might seem the obvious thing to do:
scientist's ability to get funding and career advancement has, for
decades, been predicated on who is first to publish --- not on who is
first to help people.

*GigaScience* has given awards in
[2017](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/and-the-winner-is-our-icg12-prize-track-on-gigatv/)
and
[2018](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/microbial-genomics-goldmine/)
to individuals who stand as examples for those promoting best open
science practices in a variety of areas. This year's prize focused
specifically on data sharing, as the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted
more than ever the importance of open and international collaborative
research.

Given *GigaScience* journal's aims to incentivize data sharing and open
science practices, Professor Zhang was a clear winner for this year's
award. He not only immediately submitted the [SARS-CoV-2 genome
data](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore?term=MN908947.1)) on Jan 5th
to the international database, GenBank, but on seeing there was a delay
in processing his lab's submission, he took the extra step to expedite
its release to the public by making it available [via the
virological.org](https://virological.org/t/novel-2019-coronavirus-genome/319)
discussion forum.

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srcset="http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.03.04-AM-1024x695.png 1024w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.03.04-AM-300x204.png 300w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.03.04-AM-768x521.png 768w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.03.04-AM.png 1456w"
sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" width="768" height="521"
alt="Zhang Yongzhen slide" />
<figcaption><em>Slide from Prof Zhang’s talk on the timeline of his
efforts sequencing and releasing the first SARS-Cov2 genome. With the
data analysis and release all</em> occurring <em>within hours of the
first genome coming off the sequencer.</em></figcaption>
</figure>

GigaScience Prize Judge Professor Lachlan Coin from the University of
Melbourne highlighted how Prof Zhang's actions assisted Coin's own
country: "This allowed public health authorities to identify the first
case in Australia only 15 days after the genome sequence was uploaded,
and is central to ongoing testing efforts which have helped contain the
outbreak in our country". 

Professor Nick Loman at the University of Birmingham who is part of the
COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium said: "Every single day of delay can be
measured in lives during a pandemic and so Zhang Yongzhen's early and
principled data sharing was a transformative first step in the
scientific fight against COVID-19."

Professor Zhang's efforts in sharing the first SARS-Cov-2 genome has
already been acknowledged around the world, with Time Magazine
recognizing him as a "saving grace" and [naming him as one of the 100
most influential
people](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888191/zhang-yongzhen/)
of 2020. Stating that: "The Zhang team's unprecedented speed in sharing
data envisions what is possible with a collaborative, connected
public-health collective."

Professor Loman further highlighted the need for sequence data as the
only means to get started on truly managing a viral outbreak, saying:
"Whilst the generation of a new viral sequence is a technical
accomplishment in itself, much more important is the speed of sharing:
until this happens the global scientific community cannot get started on
a response. The process of designing diagnostic PCR assays and
sequencing protocols are critically contingent on that first genome
sequence."

Professor Coin further pointed to how essential having a viral sequence
available is to the medical profession, noting: "Early availability of
the genome sequence also enabled researchers to start developing
vaccines and antiviral therapies even before the virus could be grown in
sufficient quantities in cell culture for it to be studied directly."

The availability of this data within weeks of the first identified
COVID-19 patient undoubtedly saved many lives and will be highlighted
for many years to come as the perfect example of why we can see further
by standing on the shoulders of giants. The ICG-15 GigaScience prize was
an acknowledgement for all of Prof Zhang and his groups efforts and will
likely be one of many recognitions to come.

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<img
src="http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.06.14-AM-1024x610.png"
class="wp-image-3618" loading="lazy" decoding="async"
srcset="http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.06.14-AM-1024x610.png 1024w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.06.14-AM-300x179.png 300w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.06.14-AM-768x457.png 768w, http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-10-29-at-11.06.14-AM.png 1340w"
sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" width="768" height="458"
alt="ICG-15 Prize winner" />
<figcaption><em>Prof Zhang presenting his talk at ICG-15 in Wuhan on the
26th October.</em></figcaption>
</figure>

Prof Zhang's prize talk at ICG-15 was on: When Can We Predict the
Emergence of an Infectious Disease like Weather Forecast? Envisioning a
time when, much like a weather forecast can warn people of an oncoming
tornado or typhoon, the immediate availability of an infectious agent's
genome will be able to provide clues on the severity and mode of
transmission of that agent. In that respect, creating a world-wide
infectious disease genetic monitoring system makes obvious sense to give
an early warning system to stop or mitigate potential pandemics.

The *GigaScience* award, a trophy and a \$1000 prize, was given to
Professor Zhang at the 15th annual International Conference on Genomics
in Wuhan on the 26th October 2020. Presenting in the conference, the
winners are given a \$1000 prize and trophy. You can watch the video of
the award presentation (and many of the previous
[IGC-12](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/and-the-winner-is-our-icg12-prize-track-on-gigatv/)
and
[ICG-13](http://gigasciencejournal.com/blog/icg13-prize-winners-on-gigatv/)
prize talks) from our [youtube
channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Xt1XQMEYqhZ002Phrpn6A).

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<em>
 We are proud to announce Prof Zhang Yongzhen winner the 2020 ICG-15 GigaScience Prize for Outstanding Data Sharing during the COVID-19 Pandemic
</em>
.
<em>
 Last month was the 10th consecutive year we’ve attended our co-publisher BGI’s annual ICG (International Conference on Genomics) gathering, and the third time we have presented a prize at the meeting.
</em>
This years award was for Dr. Zhang’s outstanding efforts in sharing the first

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COVID-19 Data-Sharing Hero Wins GigaScience Prize