Anitha Kannan Appointed Senior Architect of the ARDC Thematic Research Data Commons Strategy

We're delighted to announce that Anitha Kannan to the position of Senior Architect, Thematic Research Data Commons Strategy.
A photo of Anitha Kannan, Senior Architect, ARDC Thematic Research Data Commons Strategy

The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is delighted to announce the appointment of Anitha Kannan to the position of Senior Architect, Thematic Research Data Commons Strategy.

The ARDC is drawing on its expertise in building integrated national digital research infrastructures to address significant national and international challenges, with a focus on Australia’s science and research priorities. The new ARDC Thematic Research Data Commons will develop national-scale data assets, digital tools and platforms to enable researchers from across disciplines and industries to deliver world-class data-intensive research outcomes in strategic thematic areas.

Anitha Kannan joined the ARDC in September 2021 to lead the design of the new Thematic Research Data Commons strategy, and has served on the ARDC Research and Technology Advisory Committee since December 2020. She brings to the role a wealth of experience in leading research infrastructure strategy through over 8 years in leadership roles at Monash University, with a focus on digital research infrastructure, capacity and capability and 20 years of experience in the information technology industry.

Anitha said, “I believe that research and ‘research translation’ will play a significant role in Australia’s global impact and the future of our industry, economy and society. I’m looking forward to developing the Thematic Research Data Commons strategy to enable research communities to have access to fit-for-purpose digital research infrastructure and data capabilities that support rapid innovation at scale.

The Thematic Research Data Commons will enable collaborations between the research sector, industry, government and community to drive research translation for societal benefits and commercial opportunities.”

About Anitha Kannan

Prior to joining ARDC, Anitha was the Director of Research Platform Data Strategy in the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Monash University. In this role, Anitha led the data strategy for the Monash Technology Research Platforms, the University’s core facilities delivering research infrastructure, in order to support the research priorities and aspirations of the University. Her responsibilities included establishing and delivering a data strategy to enable the University to realise the full potential of its cutting-edge research infrastructure; leading the development and implementation of strategies to address computational data and research data lifecycle challenges; establishing networks and relationships with stakeholders in research, industry and government; and representing the University in think tanks on research data.

Anitha was also the interim Director of Helix, a Monash University core facility focused on digital research infrastructure for sensitive data. She played a key role in the establishment of Helix, which underpins over $80M of health research. Helix provides researchers and their collaborators cutting-edge secure research infrastructure and expertise to accelerate research across the sensitive data pipeline, including, data governance, data linkage, analysis, reporting, informatics and training.

In 2020-2021 Anitha was a chief investigator on over $4.5M of grants to establish institutional and national-scale research infrastructure. She was also leading the development of Monash University’s Research Data Protection and Privacy Roadmap. Anitha has a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communications.

We would like to congratulate Anitha on her appointment.

Learn more about the Thematic Research Data Commons.

The ARDC is funded through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) to support national digital research infrastructure for Australian researchers.

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