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  • February 5, 2026

In remembrance of Peer Bork

The recent passing of our Project Coordinator, Peer Bork, leaves a deep void within BIOcean5D and in the many lives and fields of research he influenced.
Peer Bork, talking at the BIOcean5D kick-off meeting at EMBL Heidelberg in January 2023. Credit: Kinga Siring/EMBL.

It is with immense sadness that we learned of the passing of our colleague and friend, Peer Bork, EMBL Interim Director General and BIOcean5D Project Coordinator.  

Peer Bork, BIOcean5D Project Coordinator, together with BIOcean5D colleagues at the project’s kick-off meeting at EMBL Heidelberg in January 2023. Credit: Kinga Siring/EMBL.

An exceptional scientist, Peer made outstanding contributions across computational biology, microbiomics and systems biology over more than three decades at EMBL.

Peer was central to the BIOcean5D project’s work exploring marine life and how it changes across space, time and human impact. He co-led the work package dedicated to building a digital foundation to explore marine biodiversity, and more recently became BIOcean5D Project Coordinator, taking over from Edith Heard following her move to the Francis Crick Institute in the summer of 2025.

Peer Bork, BIOcean5D Project Coordinator, together with BIOcean5D colleagues at the project’s kick-off meeting at EMBL Heidelberg in January 2023. Credit: Kinga Siring/EMBL.

“Peer was a true visionary. From his PhD in biochemistry and biophysics in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the founding of the transversal theme Planetary Biology at EMBL, his career has been far too rich and intense to be captured in just a few lines,” says Colomban de Vargas, BIOcean5D Scientific Coordinator.

“I first met Peer in 2008, at the outset of the Tara Oceans expedition. But I truly came to understand him more than a decade later, and especially over the past three years through the implementation of TREC, BIOcean5D and the planetary biology vision that he shared with such joy and generosity.”

Peer Bork, presenting to BIOcean5D colleagues at the project’s kick-off meeting at EMBL Heidelberg in January 2023. Credit: Kinga Siring/EMBL.

We extend our deepest condolences to Peer’s family, friends, colleagues and the many people whose lives and research he influenced.

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In remembrance of Peer Bork

This website is co-funded by the European Union (GA#101059915). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

This work is supported by the UK government Horizon Europe Guarantee, UKRI Grant Reference Number 10039266.

This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERl) under contract #22.00255.

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