This course, run with Wellcome Connecting Science, covers the use of multi-omics data and methodologies in systems biology. The content will explore a range of approaches - ranging from network inference to machine learning - that can be used to extract biological insights from varied data types. Together these techniques will provide participants with a useful toolkit for designing new strategies to extract relevant information and understanding from large-scale biological data.

The motivation for running this course is a result of advances in computer science and high-performance computing that have led to groundbreaking developments in systems biology model inference. With the comparable increase of publicly-available, large-scale biological data, the challenge now lies in interpreting them in a biologically valuable manner. Likewise, machine learning approaches are making a significant impact in our analysis of large omics datasets and the extraction of useful biological knowledge.

Virtual course

Participants will learn via a mix of pre-recorded lectures, live presentations, and trainer Q&A sessions. Practical experience will be developed through group activities and trainer-led computational exercises. Live sessions will be delivered using Zoom with additional support and communication via Slack. 

Pre-recorded material will be made available to registered participants prior to the start of the course and the week before the course there will be a brief induction session. Computational practicals will run on EMBL-EBI's virtual training infrastructure, meaning participants will not require access to a powerful computer or install complex software on their own machines; however, a small app will need to be installed to access the compute infrastructure.

Participants will need to be available between the hours of 09:30-17:30 BST each day of the course. Trainers will be available to assist, answer questions, and further explain the analysis during these times.