Otago bioinformatics spring school

Leveraging on the success of two-day workshops modelled on The Carpentries, we decided to “level up” and create a week-long training event hosted at the University of Otago with support from Genomics Aotearoa and NeSI. The Otago Bioinformatics Spring School was an opportunity to symbiotically combine bioinformatic themed workshops, Genomic Data Carpentry, Genotype-by-Sequencing, RNA sequence analysis, and environmental DNA analysis. Separately, each workshop has a degree of required introductory content e.g. Introduction to the Unix shell. By grouping this content we could include topics to give a fuller example of reproducible research techniques to attendees, such as incorporation of version control into their workflows.

This talk will highlight successes and challenges from the inaugural Otago Bioinformatics Spring School.

Murray is a Teaching Fellow and Scientific Officer at the University of Otago. He is both a Carpentries instructor and instructor trainer. His teaching focus is on delivering digital literacy training to researchers, and the development and support of the local Carpentries community at Otago. His research involves the use of large datasets to investigate the genetic basis of Gout in Māori and Polynesian populations.

Dinindu Senanayake is an Applications Support Specialist,HPC at NeSI with a particular interest in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Joined NeSI following half a decade of research experience gained in the field of Cancer Genetics, Chemical Genetics and Bioinformatics

Ludovic is a Research Fellow at the University of Otago. His research encompasses evolutionary and ecological genomics, from conservation genetics to environmental DNA. He is dedicated to growing the “omics” capability in New Zealand by delivering training through workshops and individual support.

Ngoni is Genomics Aotearoa’s Training Coordinator, tasked with supporting and building capacity and capability in bioinformatics for New Zealand.

Matt is a Teaching Fellow at the University of Otago helping to deliver the Carpentries Programs. He has a background in Quantitative Genetics and Genomics and is about to start with NeSI as a Support Specialist.