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Whole transcriptome data analysis – Course and Conference Office

EMBL Course

Whole transcriptome data analysis

Overview

Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery is required to attend this on-site course. Please see EMBL’s COVID-19 safety policy for on-site events.

Course overview

This course will teach the biological researchers how to analyse biological data sets using open-source software. Most of the analysis will be performed with docker4seq package, which was developed to facilitate the use of computing demanding applications in the field of NGS data analysis. Docker4seq package uses docker containers that embed demanding computing tasks (e.g. short reads mapping) into isolated containers. This approach provides multiple advantages: the user does not need to install all the software on its local server, the results generated by different containers can be organised in pipelines and reproducible research is guarantee by the possibility of sharing the docker images used for the analysis.

Computers for hands-on exercises will be provided along with demo data sets.

Audience

This course was developed for biological researchers as the intended audience. Basic knowledge of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) is desirable, however R-coding skills and deep knowledge of statistics are not necessary.

Modules/Resources

  • Tools for RNA-seq data analysis
  • Experimental design
  • Quality control
  • Normalisation and data reformatting
  • Basic statistics
  • Selecting differentially regulated genes/microRNAs
  • Selecting alternative splicing events
  • Multiple testing
  • Biological interpretation

Learning outcomes

  • Understand the importance of experimental design in order to ask sensible biological questions
  • Assess the quality of your data
  • Perform normalisation and reformatting procedures
  • Complete basic statistical tests on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data
  • Understand some of the problems encountered when analysing data

What past participants say about this course

“My research focus is on RNA sequencing, infectious diseases and next generation sequencing. Attending this course helped me understand the basics, got me career advice and extended my network. Overall, it made me a better researcher.” Abhay Deep Pandey, Translational Health Science And Technology Institute, India.

“Excellent course on the complete spectrum of RNA-Seq. I would highly recommend this course to all biologists.” Issaac Rajan, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia.

Organisers

Scientific organisers

Course organisers

Raili Pall

Course and Conference Officer

EMBL Heidelberg

Germany

Programme

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  • Some pre-course work (such as watching pre-recordings, protocol reading and computational exercises) with estimated time 0-10 hours will be required and will be shared in advance of the course.
  • Some speakers may need to join virtually to give their lecture or Q&A, and the programme is subject to change.
  • All times in the programme below are shown as the time in Europe/Berlin
  • The preliminary programme below is a draft and is subject to change
Day 1 – Sunday 29 May 2022
TimeSpeakerLocation
13:30Bus from ISG to EMBLISG Hotel entrance
14:00-14:30Arrival, welcome, course overview and safety briefing
Vladimir Benes – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Inna Bösselmann – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Irena Provaznikova – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A&B
14:30-15:00 Participants flash talksCourtyard Room A&B
15:00-16:00 RNA-seq, cool but is it that simple?
Vladimir Benes – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A&B
16:00-16:30Coffee BreakCourtyard Foyer
16:30-18:00RNA-seq, cool but is it that simple?
Vladimir Benes – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany
Courtyard Room A&B
18:00-19:00DinnerEMBL Canteen
19:00Shuttle bus to ISG HotelATC Entrance
Day 2 – Monday 30 May 2022
TimeSpeakerLocation
08:40 Bus from ISG to EMBL ISG Hotel entrance
09:00-10:00 R pills theory and practice
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
10:00-10:30 Coffee Break ATC Foyer
10:30-11:00Experimental design
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
11:00-12:00Docker4seq/rCASC/4SeqGUI overview
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
12:00-13:00LunchEMBL Canteen
13:00-13:30Docker container and reproducibility
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
13:30-14:30QC bulk
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
14:30-15:00 Coffee Break ATC Foyer
15:00-16:00QC single cells
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
16:00-17:30R pills theory and practice
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
17:30 – 18:30Social programme: Facility tour
18:30-20:00DinnerEMBL Canteen
20:05 Shuttle bus to ISG Hotel ATC Entrance
Day 3 – Tuesday 31 May 2022
Time SpeakerLocation
08:40 Bus from ISG to EMBL ISG Hotel entrance
09:00-10:30 R pills theory and practice
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
10:30-11:00Coffee Break ATC Foyer
11:00-12:30Counting reads and data reduction
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
12:30-13:30LunchEMBL Canteen
13:30-15:00Counting reads and data reduction
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
15:00-16:00Counting reads miRNA
Francesca Cordero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
16:00-16:30Coffee Break ATC Foyer
16:30-18:00ExercisesComputer Training Lab
18:00-19:00R pills theory and practice
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
19:00-20:30DinnerEMBL Canteen
20:30 Shuttle bus to ISG Hotel ATC Entrance
Day 4 – Wednesday 1 June 2022
TimeSpeakerLocation
08:40 Bus from ISG to EMBL ISG Hotel entrance
09:00-10:00 Differential expression analysis for bulk RNAseq
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
10:00-11:00Sub-population discovery in single cell RNAseq: clustering
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
11:00-11:30Coffee Break ATC Foyer
11:30-12:30Differential expression analysis for multiple groups: ANOVA-like
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin
Computer Training Lab
12:30-13:30LunchEMBL Canteen
13:30-15:00Exercises Bulk RNAseqComputer Training Lab
15:00-16:00Exercises single cell RNAseqComputer Training Lab
16:00-16:30Coffee Break ATC Foyer
16:30-18:00R pills theory and practice
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
18:10Shuttle bus to restaurant ATC Entrance
19:30Social Dinner at Oskar Restaurant
Day 5 – Thursday 2 June 2022
TimeSpeakerLocation
08:40 Bus from ISG to EMBL ISG Hotel entrance
09:00-10:00 R pills theory and practice
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
10:00-11:00Mining differential expression results for bulk RNAseq
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
11:00-11:30Coffee Break ATC Foyer
11:30-12:30Depicting clusters specific biomarkers in single cell RNAseq data
Francesca Cordero – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
12:30-13:30LunchEMBL Canteen
13:30-16:00ExercisesComputer Training Lab
16:00-16:30Coffee Break ATC Foyer
16:30-17:30ExercisesComputer Training Lab
17:30-18:30R pills theory and practice
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
18:30-20:00DinnerEMBL Canteen
20:05Shuttle bus to ISG Hotel ATC Entrance
Day 6 – Friday 3 June 2022
TimeSpeakerLocation
08:40 Bus from ISG to EMBL ISG Hotel entrance
09:00-11:00 Individual exercises on bulk or single cell RNAseq
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
11:00-11:30 Coffee Break ATC Foyer
11:30-12:30Individual exercises on bulk or single cell RNAseq
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
12:30-13:30Lunch, farewell and group photoEMBL Canteen
13:30-17:00Individual exercises on bulk or single cell RNAseq
Raffaele Calogero – University of Turin, Italy
Marco Beccuti – University of Turin, Italy
Computer Training Lab
17:00-17:10Final remarks
Vladimir Benes, Raffaele Calogero, Marco Beccuti
Computer Training Lab
17:10Shuttle bus to Heidelberg Train Station ATC Entrance

Practical information

Registration Fees and Motivation Letter

The course is limited to 16 participants. For selection purposes, please note that your application will not be considered without a letter of motivation.

Registration

Registration Fees include admission, course materials, COVID-19 safety measures, meals and coffee breaks.

Participants are expected to book and pay their own accommodation and travel expenses. 

Academia€690
PhD Student€690
Industry€1100

Confirmation and payment

The registration fee should be paid only after acceptance to the course. The results will be announced approximately 2-3 weeks after the application deadline.

Motivation letter submission

After you have logged in and successfully registered, you will receive an email asking you to submit your motivation letter. Click on the link provided and enter your motivation letter in the text box provided. Alternatively you can submit your motivation letter by clicking on the link on the confirmation page directly after registering.

Instructions

  1. Include your relevant skills, experience and qualifications showing why you would be suitable for the course.
  2. Explain why you would like to attend, including what you can contribute and how you think you will benefit from the course.

Please note:

  • The limit of 2000 characters refers to manually typed text and excludes spaces. If an error occurs try using a different web browser (preferably Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).
  • If you copy-paste the text into the form, hidden formatting might still be included which may cause the text to exceed the 2,000 character limit resulting in an error message. We recommend you clear all formatting before pasting in the text.
  • If you have special symbols in your text, make sure you are using Unicode characters, otherwise these will not be recognised.

For more detailed information, follow the instructions provided in our video on how to submit a course motivation letter.

Further details

For further information about registration and motivation letter submission please refer to the FAQ page.

Financial assistance

Financial assistance

Registration fee waivers

All academic and student registrants are invited to apply for a registration fee waiver, provided by the EMBL Advanced Training Centre Corporate Partnership Programme and EMBO. The registration fee waiver covers the registration sum that you have paid to attend the meeting. Conference participants are not required to pre-pay the registration fee to be selected for a fee waiver for a virtual meeting. If you have already paid the registration fee and are awarded a fee waiver, it will be reimbursed after the meeting. Course participants are required to pay the course fee in advance, which will then be reimbursed after the recipient has attended the course.

Boehringer ingelheim fonds travel grant

Applies to selected courses only. Availability will be indicated during the abstract or motivation letter submission process.

This grant covers costs related to your attendance to the course (registration, travel and accommodation costs). The grant is restricted to PhD students and postdocs who conduct basic biomedical research.
Whether you are eligible to apply for a travel grant, depends on when you received your university entrance qualification (e.g. Abitur, A-Levels, High School Diploma, Final State Examination):

– for PhD and MD students, as well as graduates, the university entrance qualification must not have been obtained more than 11 years ago at the time of the envisaged course
– for postdocs, the university entrance qualification must not have been obtained more than 13 years ago at the time of the envisaged course

Application

Applications for financial assistance can be submitted via the submission portal* (for the submission of abstracts for conferences or the submission of motivation letters for courses) by completing the Financial Assistance Application Section (underneath the section for entering abstract/motivation letter information). The link to the portal can be found in the registration confirmation email that you will receive after registering for the conference or course.

For conferences, if you are not submitting an abstract, you can still apply for financial assistance in the submission portal. Read the instructions on how to apply for financial assistance.

Note that priority will be given to those submitting an abstract to present at the conference. In your application you will be asked to answer questions regarding your motivation for applying, and, for registration fee waivers, the reasons why your lab cannot fund your attendance and how your attendance will make a difference to your career. Application for financial support will not affect the outcome of your registration application.

*For some events, applications for Childcare Grants will still be done by email. Information about the grant will be sent out shortly after the abstract/motivation letter deadline. Please contact the event Conference Officer if you have any questions.

Selection

The scientific organisers will select the recipients of registration fee waivers during the abstract selection process for conferences and the participant selection process for courses. Results will be announced approximately 3 – 4 weeks before the event start date. Selection results do not impact your admission to the meeting. Registration fee waiver selection is based on your current work or study location, your motivation for applying, the reasons for needing financial support and the impact this event will have on your career. Childcare grants are allocated based on career stage, with priority given to early stage researchers.

Further details

Check out this list of external funding opportunities or get more information on attending the conference as an event reporter.

For further information about financial assistance please refer to the FAQ page.

Accommodation and Shuttles

Single rooms have been reserved for 5 nights (29 May – 3 June 2022) at the ISG Hotel. After the selection process, selected participants should contact the hotel directly to make a booking (booking code DAT22-01). We recommend that all course participants stay at the ISG Hotel which is the dedicated hotel for the course.

Local transport

Shuttle buses will go from the ISG Hotel to EMBL and back, mornings and evenings. A bus schedule and location of the bus stops will be made available prior to the meeting.

Further details

Address: EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

For further information on getting to EMBL Heidelberg visit our Travel Information page.

For enquiries about accommodation and local transportation please refer to the FAQ page.

Technical Requirements and Event Software

Technical requirements

Below you will find the software and technical requirements for this course.

  • All software and hardware required for this course will be ready for you to use in our Computer Training Lab.
  • You will need admin rights to install the software required to access the virtual machines. If you do not have admin rights, please contact your technical support team in advance to make sure the software can be installed.
  • If you have a non-standard HDMI port (other than type A), you need to bring an adaptor.
  • Keyboard and PC mouse are available for use with a standard USB port. If you have a different port type, such as USB-C, you will need to bring your own.

Event software

The EMBL eCampus learning platform will be used to collaborate, communicate and network with all of the course participants. All participants will receive information on how to join shortly before the course. We recommend using Chrome, Safari or Mozilla Firefox browsers for eCampus. 

Additional Information

Please find additional information including FAQs, terms and conditions, COVID-19 safety policy and travelling to EMBL on our Information for Participants page.

COVID-19 Related Questions

COVID-19 information for onsite events at EMBL Heidelberg can be found in our COVID-19 FAQs.

Sponsors

Sponsorship opportunities

We offer a variety of event sponsoring possibilities, with the flexibility to select a set sponsorship package or combine individual sponsorship options to suit your event budget. Discounts are available for companies sponsoring multiple events at EMBL Heidelberg. View other conferences, or contact sponsorship@embl.de for further information.

If you are interested in becoming a media partner of this event, please visit our media partnerships webpage.

Date: 29 May - 3 Jun 2022

Location: EMBL Heidelberg

Venue: EMBL Advanced Training Centre


Deadline(s):

Application: Closed


Organisers:

  • Marco Beccuti
    University of Turin, Italy

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