Torsten Schwede is vice president for research at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and group leader at the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. Trained as a chemist at the University of Bayreuth and the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg (Germany), where he completed his PhD in protein crystallography, he moved to Geneva to conduct research in structural bioinformatics at the global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. In 2001, Torsten joined the Biozentrum of the University of Basel as professor for structural bioinformatics (TTAP), and a year later he became group leader at the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. During the following years, he contributed in various roles to community efforts in computational biology and bioinformatics, e.g. he is a co-organizer of the CASP experiment, served as member of the executive board of directors at the SIB for more than ten years, and acted as chair of the ELIXIR board (2015/16). In the context of the SPHN Swiss Personalized Health Network, Torsten established the Data Coordination Center in Basel and is chairing the Scientific Expert Board.