The most valuable weapon against the next deadly disease outbreak may be data. Scientists aiming to stop or prevent the spread of viral or bacterial pathogens need rapid, comprehensive access to datasets on their genomics, structure, function and more, combined with computational tools to quickly analyze data and make predictions using artificial intelligence techniques. That critical service will be provided by the new Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center (BV-BRC), based at the University of Chicago. The big data resource combines two independent efforts at UChicago and the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) into a common infrastructure that will support richer scientific data and more powerful analytic tools. The data resource will be funded by the National Institutes of Health and the contract award totals $43,196,984 over five years, if all options are exercised. The primary awardee is the University of Chicago, with sub-awards given to JCVI, the University of Virginia and the Fellowship for Interpretation of Genomes.