GO Tech Week
The Genetics Otago Annual Symposium expanded in 2023 to an all-new three-day event, featuring two days of Hub workshops followed by a full-day symposium. With the aim of driving innovation in research among our members, this three-day ‘Tech Week’ provided an opportunity to share knowledge in key areas of Genetic and Genomic research and technology, to learn new skills and to celebrate the fantastic research being done by GO members around the country.
Date: 14th – 16th November 2023
Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Venue: St David Lecture Theatre Complex and Genetics 300-level teaching Lab, and via Zoom
Organising Committee: Rebecca Oliver, Louise Bicknell and Logan Walker
Sponsors:
Award Winners:
Genetics Otago Prize: Peter Dearden
Peer Mentor Award: Alana Alexander (Te Hikutu: Ngāpuhi, Pākehā)
Student Supervisor Award: Heather Cunliffe
ECR Publication Award: Melanie Laird and Oscar Ortega-Recalde
Student Publication Award: David Mayo Muñoz
ECR Poster Award: Victoria Sugrue
Student Poster Award: Stephanie Waller
Science Communication Award: Tim Hore, Donna Bond, Melanie Laird, Victoria Sugrue and Janic Gorman
Postgraduate Retreat
The biennial Genetics Otago Postgraduate Retreat was open to all PGDipSci, Hons, MSc and PhD students who are using genetics as part of their research. The day-long event included sessions on science communication, Māori language, careers, wellbeing and ethics.
Date: Friday 27th of October 2023
Time: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Gallery Room, Staff Club
Organising Committee: Caroline Stokes, Amy Jones, Megan Mulligan, Rebecca Oliver
Programme
Variant Analysis Hub Workshop
This workshop, was held in partnership with Genomics Aotearoa and NeSI and was facilitated by Dr Chris Hakkaart (Sequera Labs). Participants started with an exploration of the core features of Nextflow and learning the fundamental commands and options for executing workflows before moving on to the core features of nf-core and its tooling and applying knowledge to learn the structure of an nf-core workflow and how to customise its execution. Participants were also able to explore the source code of the `nf-core/sarek` workflow and learn how to build a run command and customise its execution. The workshop finished by discussing how to execute Sarek at scale using full-size data.
Date: 11th and 12th October 2023
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Venue: Online (Dunedin Hub for attendees is Hunter Centre Computer Lab 1.15)
Organising Committee: Ben Halliday, George Wiggans, Tyler McInnes, Rebecca Oliver
VISG Seminar Series (September) – Dr Ee Cheng Ooi
This month the Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics seminar was given by Dr Ee Cheng Ooi of Abacus Bio. Dr Ooi’s talk was titled: Using SNP effects to understand the underlying biological mechanisms linking traits: a study of milk yield and fertility in dairy cattle
Date: 21st September 2023
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: St David Complex Seminar Room A G.02
Organising Committee: Jie Kang, Xun Xiao, Phil Wilcox, Mik Black, Rebecca Oliver
Career Evening
The annual Career evening for students in Genetics, Microbiology and Biochemistry was held online this year and featured breakout rooms for discussion following the formal presentations from employers
Date: 20th September 2023
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: G13, Biochemistry Building
Organising Committee: Karen Knapp, Miriam Sharpe, Jennifer Robson, Megan Hall, Rebecca Oliver
Schedule
Careers Evening Programme
Zebrafish Hub Inaugural Meeting
This inaugural meeting of the Zebrafish Hub was run by the Hub leader Dr Megan Leask and consisted of short presentations from Zebrafish users as well as time for general discussion and networking.
Date: Friday, 8th September 2023
Time: 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Venue: Health Science Divisional Board Room (4th floor Physio Building)
Organising Committee: Megan Leask, Rebecca Oliver
Schedule
Zebrafish Hub Meeting Schedule
eDNA Hub Workshop
Participants dove into the fascinating realm of Environmental DNA (eDNA) in this immersive two-day hands-on workshop. From data Quality Control (QC) to statistical analyses, this workshop covers the key steps in eDNA analyses. Participants used their own Illumina eDNA metabarcoding datasets to gain hands-on experience in eDNA analysis including exploring common pipelines and core tools to gain a solid foundation in eDNA principles, before learning about common eDNA statistical techniques that enable robust interpretations and hypothesis testing.
Date: Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th September 2023
Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Venue: Hunter Centre CAL, 1.15
Organising Committee: Eddy Dowle, Gert-Jan Jeunen, Rebecca Oliver
VISG Seminar Series (August) – Dr Setegn Alemu
This month the Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics seminar was given by Dr Setegn Alemu of AgResearch. Dr Alemu’s talk was titled: Indirect genetic effects and kin recognition: estimating IGEs when interactions differ between kin and strangers(non-kin)
Date: 17th August 2023
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Mellor Laboratories Seminar Room 2.15
Organising Committee: Jie Kang, Xun Xiao, Phil Wilcox, Mik Black, Rebecca Oliver
VISG Seminar Series (July) – Dr Ludovic Dutoit
This month the Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics seminar was given by Dr Ludovic Dutoit of the Department of Zoology, University of Otago. Dr Dutoit’s talk was titled: Sex-linked stories in a shared genome
Date: 20th July 2023
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: St David Seminar Room A, G.02
Organising Committee: Jie Kang, Xun Xiao, Phil Wilcox, Mik Black, Rebecca Oliver
Ira Rangahau Māori 2023
The 3rd Ira Rangahau Symposium was held over a full day on the 10th of July 2023 on the Dunedin campus. This event once again convened Māori kairangahau from around the motu to present their genetics-related research spanning diverse domains from the primary sector to health, to whakapapa and te taiao.
Date: Monday 10th July 2023
Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: Terrace Lounge, University Union Building
Organising Committee: Phillip Wilcox, Alana Alexander, Catherine Collins, Nathan Kenny, Rebecca Oliver
Events Support: Jane Reynolds
Sponsorship and Support:
This event was supported by a Division of Health Sciences Impact and Engagement Award and Sponsored by Allan Wilson at Otago.
VISG Seminar Series (June) – Prof Mik Black
This month the Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics seminar was given by Professor Mik Black of the Department of Biochemistry. Prof Black’s talk was titled: Help! My genome turned into a graph…
Date: 15th June 2023
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Biochemistry Seminar Room G13
Organising Committee: Jie Kang, Xun Xiao, Phil Wilcox, Mik Black, Rebecca Oliver
eDNA Hub Seminar – Dr Quentin Mauvisseau
The eDNA hosted Dr Quentin Mauvisseau (EDGE group (Evolution, eDNA, Genomics and Ethnobotany) Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway) who spoke about Monitoring marine and freshwater habitats from polar to tropical environments: challenges of eDNA based monitoring..
Date: 1st June 2023
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: D’Ath Lecture Theatre, Hercus Building
Organising Committee: Eddy Dowle, Gert-Jan Jeunen, Tina Summerfield, Rebecca Oliver
Variant Analysis Hub Seminar – Prof Wyeth Wasserman
The Variant Analysis Hub hosted visiting Professor Wyeth Wasserman (Investigator, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
Senior Scientist, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and Professor, Department of Medicine Genetics, University of British Columbia) for a seminar Genome sequencing and diagnosis for children impacted by rare disease.
Date: 30th May 2023
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: St David Lecture Theatre Complex, Seminar Room A
Organising Committee: Ben Halliday, George Wiggins, Rebecca Oliver
VISG Seminar Series (May) – A/Prof Phil Wilcox
This first seminar in the monthly Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics seminar series was given by Associate Professor Phillip Wilcox (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa) of the Department of Mathematics & Statistics. A/Prof Wilcox’s talk was titled: Utilisation of mātauranga Māori to improve estimation of disease risk/resilience
Date: 18th May 2023
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Mellor Seminar Room 2.15
Organising Committee: Jie Kang, Xun Xiao, Phil Wilcox, Mik Black, Rebecca Oliver
eDNA Hub Seminar – Prof Mike Bunce
The eDNA Hub hosted a special seminar by Professor Mike Bunce (Chief Science Advisor | Department of Conservation (DOC) – Te Papa Atawhai): Listening to nature & keeping score: why eDNA has a key role to play. The seminar was followed by the opening meeting of the eDNA Hub for 2023.
Date: 9th May 2023
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Location: Biochemistry Seminar Room, G13
Organising Committee: Eddy Dowle, Gert-Jan Jeunen, Tina Summerfield, Rebecca Oliver
Quantitative Genetics Course with Prof. Bruce Weir
Professor Bruce Weir facilitated a training course in analyses of quantitative genetic information. This 4-day course covered genetic and statistical sampling, allelic association testing, inbreeding and relatedness, principal components analysis and quantitative trait models. The course is hosted by the Virtual Institute of Genetics Hub (Genetics Otago), and also included presentations from researchers working in this area.
Date: 13th – 16th March 2023
Time: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Location: Cullen Room, AgResearch at Invermay
Organising Committee: Phillip Wilcox, Bruce Weir, Rebecca Oliver
Sponsors
Professor Weir’s visit to Dunedin is funded by the Rakeiora Project (Genomics Aotearoa):
Single-Cell Sequencing SPLiT-Seq Workshop
This training session, led by Nathan Kenny and supported by Genetics Otago, Decode, and Parse Biosciences, in the Biochemistry Department covered the theory of combinatorial indexing, how you can extract and analyse barcoded mRNA reads, and the basics of Seurat-centred workflows for interacting with data.
Date: 23rd and 24th February 2023
Time: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm and 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: University of Otago, Biochemistry Building Seminar Room 2.31
Organising Committee: Nathan Kenny, Rebecca Oliver
Sponsor:
