OMICSS-22

About the school

Contemporary medicine, pharma, and biotech have largely been transformed into data-dependent ventures, where large-scale biological data analysis is the cornerstone of success. Consequently, technologies that have revolutionized bio-related research and industries, such as large-scale sequencing have posed the challenge of having enough specialists able to transform data into knowledge (bioinformaticians). Training specialists in the field of bioinformatics and genomics is thus of tremendous importance to life science research and innovation.

In Armenia, some BSc programs offer courses in bioinformatics and genomics, such as those in the Russian-Armenian University and the American University of Armenia. However, there is a huge knowledge gap that most of the students need to bridge to gain relevant skills to conduct research in bioinformatics. It is a critical problem to meet these needs and prepare a new generation of young bioinformatics researchers. Importantly, there is a huge talent and potential among the students at the undergraduate level, but lack of post-graduate opportunities. And this is the main challenge that the Armenian Bioinformatics Institute (ABI) is solving.

In response to this challenge, ABI in collaboration with the Bioinformatics Group at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) NAS RA is organizing the second summer school in genome bioinformatics: OMICSS-2022. The program envisions recruitment of up to 20 students from biology, math, data, and computer science background to engage them in everyday learning activities and hands-on training exercises. Each student will be associated with an individual ABI mentor and will take the educational resources found in the OMICSS-2021 guide developed by ABI. The students’ learning will be self-paced, at the same time receiving individual guidance from the mentors. The mentors will take into account the background of each student and will shape the self-learning program and the exercises accordingly. In addition, the mentors will facilitate knowledge exchange between peer students with complementary backgrounds (biology versus tech) through frequent meet-ups and peer-to-peer discussions.

Around 40 researchers and biotech industry specialists from Armenia and abroad will join the program to deliver guest lectures and to get to know the students. Ultimately, a few students will be chosen to continue their research under the supervision of the guest scientists.

The school is intended for biologists or data/computer scientists eager to start their journey in bioinformatics and genomics. This school offers a possibility to learn about the role of bioinformatics in research and development in life sciences, and gain the basic knowledge and skills needed to start their first bioinformatics project. The school also provides a unique opportunity to meet scientists from Armenia and abroad who will join with guest lectures and seminars.

Bioinformatics Workshop

In the final month, the students who successfully pass all exams will participate in a week-long bioinformatics workshop outside of Yerevan, where experienced researchers from Armenia and abroad will be invited. During the workshop, the students will conduct short bioinformatics projects, receive mentorship from senior researchers, and will present their results in a final presentation.

This event is sponsored by Tashir MEDICA.

After the School

During the school, the students will gain general knowledge about bioinformatics and will acquire skills enabling them to start their journey in bioinformatics research. They will get to know peers with similar interests and will gain a valuable network that will help them in the initial stages of their careers.

Up to 10 students will be selected after successful completion of the school and the workshop and will become research students at ABI, some will be offered travel opportunities to participate in a 2-month-long bioinformatics school in Sweden, or to get engaged in master’s and bachelor’s projects offered by ABI and other universities in Belgium, Netherlands, US, etc. A limited number of scholarships will be available to support the research activities of those students.

Most of the graduates of OMICSS-2021 school conducted last year are currently involved in research projects at ABI (around 10 students), or other research institutions in Armenia. Around 8 researchers who have provided seminars in the OMICSS-2021 school have been supervising the ABI students throughout the last year. OMICSS-2021 has been the Bing Bang event for ABI, enabling us to exponentially increase the number of young researchers in the field and engage life scientists from the world, and we expect to achieve the same impact with OMICSS-2022.

Program

The program is envisioned to last for 11 weeks (June – August 2022). The following learning outcomes will be met by the end of each week. Depending on the student’s background (biology or data/computer science), they will selectively take each topic at their pace to meet the midterm test requirements. Successful completion of the midterm tests will enable the students to continue their participation in the school.

Everyday schedule

All students are required to participate in one-on-one meetings with mentors, as well as office hours and peer-to-peer discussions, and take part in guest lectures. Those who complete all the midterm exams will have the opportunity to continue with the school. In weeks 7 to 9 the students will have the opportunity to gain experience at the wet lab and learn about experimental techniques for the generation of -omics data. These weeks will also be rich with in-person seminars and practical work. The last couple of weeks will be devoted to mini-research projects conducted at the final workshop outside of Yerevan.

Participants will have an opportunity to learn at their own pace. For people that are employed elsewhere, the first half of the day is optional, as the school offers a hybrid learning format, particularly in the first 6 weeks. But they will need to tailor their schedule to be able to participate in the guest lectures, discussions, and experimental hours.

Mentors

Maria Nikoghosyan
PhD student
BIG IMB NAS RA

Siras Hakobyan
PhD student
BIG IMB NAS RA