NCBI to hold three-day genomics hackathon in January

NCBI to hold three-day genomics hackathon in January

NCBI to hold three-day genomics hackathon in January

Friday, November 13, 2015

From January 4th to 6th, NCBI will host a genomics hackathon focusing on advanced bioinformatics analysis of next generation sequencing data. This event is for students, postdocs and investigators already engaged in the use of pipelines for genomic analyses from next generation sequencing data.* Working groups of 5-6 individuals will be formed for twelve teams, in the following sections: Network Analysis of Variants, Structural Variation, RNA-Seq, Streaming Data and Metadata, and Neuroscience/Immunity. The working groups will build pipelines to analyze large datasets within a cloud infrastructure. Please see the application for specific team projects.

* Specific projects are available to other developers or mathematicians.

Organization

After a brief organizational session, teams will spend three days analyzing a challenging set of scientific problems related to a group of datasets. Participants will analyze and combine datasets in order to work on these problems. This course will take place at the National Library of Medicineon the NIH main campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Datasets

Datasets will come from the public repositories housed at NCBI. During the course, participants will have an opportunity to include other datasets and tools for analysis. Please note, if you use your own data during the course, we ask that you submit it to a public database within six months of the end of the hackathon.

Products

All pipelines and other scripts, software and programs generated in this course will be added to a public GitHub repository designed for that purpose. A manuscript outlining the design of the hackathon and describing participant processes, products and scientific outcomes will be submitted to an appropriate journal.

Application

To apply, complete this form (approximately 10 minutes to complete). Applications are due by 5pm ET on December 1. Participants will be selected from a pool of applicants; prior students and prior applicants will be given priority in the event of a tie. Please note: applicants are judged based on the motivation and experience outlined in the form itself.

Accepted applicants will be notified on December 4th by 2 pm ET, and have until 5pm on December 7 to confirm their participation. Please include a monitored email address, in case there are follow-up questions.

Note: Participants will need to bring their own laptop to this program. A working knowledge of scripting (e.g., Shell, Python) is necessary to be successful in this event. Employment of higher level scripting or programming languages may also be useful. Applicants must be willing to commit to all three days of the event. No financial support for travel, lodging or meals can be provided for this event. Also note that the course may extend into the evening hours on Monday and/or Tuesday. Please make any necessary arrangements to accommodate this possibility.

Please contact ben.busby@nih.gov with any questions.