DMI Bioinformatics Workshops

Since the spring of 2022, postdoctoral researchers Drs. Frances Shepherd and Pètra Vande Zande have worked together to offer hands-on bioinformatics workshops for members of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. As a result of their efforts, a community of trainees and faculty in the department became a resource for one another to both learn and troubleshoot computational analyses relevant to their research. Several trainees began using the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute and the statistical language R for the first time; other trainees substantially advanced their skillsets with the accessible support the group provided. Regardless of skill level, these individuals are now regularly using these bioinformatics tools in their research. Additionally, the department has a repository of workshop recordings and sample datasets that can be accessed now and in the future for introductory level content. 

Beginning in January 2025, the bioinformatics workshops will evolve and become the monthly Computational Biology Works in Progress seminar series. Each month a member of the department will present their research while specifically highlighting different computational approaches and discussing concepts behind the analyses. It will continue to be an opportunity to learn from one another, and for the presenter to get constructive feedback on their project and data analysis.  This change reflects the department’s growth and evolution in this important area of research. 

If you would like to participate in the new format of the workshops, please reach out to the faculty leads, Professors Ryan Langlois ([email protected]) and Anna Selmecki ([email protected]).

And please join us in thanking Frances and Pètra for all of their work!