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Events

Upcoming events hosted by or involving Genetics Otago will be listed here. Please check back regularly for updates. A calendar of events that may be of interest to our members can be found at the bottom of this page and in the sidebar of other pages on this site, please note that this includes events hosted outside of Genetics Otago.

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VISG Seminar Series


The Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics (VISG) Hub is a key part of Genetics Otago, providing a platform for researchers to collaborate and exchange knowledge and expertise in statistical genetics. The VISG Hub hosts seminars, workshops, and other events to promote statistical genetics research and foster collaboration between researchers.

We’re excited to announce our monthly genetics research seminars, aimed at connecting researchers in the field. The seminars will commence in May 2023 and will be hosted by GO’s Virtual Institute of Statistical Genetics (VISG) Hub along with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago. These seminars will be available in person or via Zoom, and all are welcome.

Date: 3rd Thursday of the month
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Schedule

  • May: Associate Professor Phil Wilcox, University of Otago
  • June: Professor Mik Black, University of Otago
  • July: Dr Ludovic Dutoit, University of Otago – please note that this seminar will be held on the 27th of July rather than the 20th due to ICG.
  • August: Dr Setegn Alemu, AgResearch
  • September: Ee Cheng Oi, Abacus Bio
  • October: Franziska Weik, Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics – Cancelled
  • November: Dr Jane Symonds and Dr Megan Scholtens, Cawthron – please note that this seminar will be held on the 17th of November rather than the 16th due to the Genetics Otago Annual Symposium.

Zoom Details
If you would like the Zoom details for this event, please contact us.

Next Seminar

The next seminar will be held on Friday the 17th of November, 11 am in Biochemistry Seminar Room G13 and will be given by Dr Jane Symonds and Dr Megan Scholtens, Cawthron Institute.

Title: Environmental resilience in aquatic species

Abstract: The New Zealand aquaculture sector faces growing vulnerability due to climate change, with marine heatwaves already causing elevated summer mortality rates in Greenshell mussels and king (Chinook) salmon. To tackle these challenges, selective breeding and genomic selection offer long-term solutions. Temperature challenge models, implemented in controlled tank environments, have been developed for both species. So far, this approach has been applied successfully to test more than 230 pedigree king salmon families and 21 Greenshell mussel families. Heritabilities for time to death at elevated temperature were high (0.34 to 0.48) suggesting that selection for improved thermotolerance is possible.

Megan Scholtens

Megan is a geneticist within the Aquaculture Group at Cawthron and is involved in a number of research projects across the ‘Shellfish Aquaculture’ and ‘Finfish Climate Change Adaptation’ platforms. Megan specialises in the application of genetic and genomic methodologies to enhance the understanding of how genes affect traits such as growth, development, behaviour, reproduction and immunity to improve the efficiency, resilience and survivability of aquatic species. In addition, Megan contributes to research activities of the Aquaculture team by integrating the experimental biology with commercial production to help provide solutions for clients and deliver tangible outcomes for the aquaculture industry.

Jane Symonds

Jane is a Senior Scientist and Team Leader in the Aquaculture Group at Cawthron. Jane’s focus is the application of research to enhance sustainable commercial production with a specific interest in king salmon farming and selective breeding. She has over 30 years of experience in this field. As a science programme leader she oversees a wide range of multi-disciplinary collaborative projects with internal and external partners, including salmon feed efficiency, genomics, behaviour, health, physiology, microbiomics, climate change adaptation, data science and developing trials to selectively breed resilient and efficient king salmon. Implementation of research for sustainable and profitable aquaculture development is a key driver for Jane. Dr Symonds is also a Senior Adjunct Researcher at the University of Tasmania and helps supervise multiple post-graduate students.

If you have any questions about this seminar series please contact us.

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Calendar of Events

The below is a calendar of events hosted by GO as well as events hosted by others that may be of interest to our members. If you have an event you would like us to include please contact us here.


Jul
4
Tue
Advanced workshop: human genome assembly using long-read sequencing platforms @ University of Otago Dunedin Campus
Jul 4 @ 1:00 pm – Jul 6 @ 5:00 pm

Advanced workshop: human genome assembly using long-read sequencing platforms

Genomics Aotearoa, in collaboration with New Zealand eScience Infrastructure, is piloting an advanced workshop on human genome assembly using long-read sequencing platforms. This is an in-person workshop hosted at the University of Otago, starting in the afternoon of 4 July and ending in the afternoon of 6 July, 2023.

This workshop will be led by members of the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC): Ann McCartney (Assistant Researcher, UCSC Genomics Institute) and Julian Lucas (Senior Bioinformatics Systems Analyst, UCSC Genomics Institute). The workshop’s main focus covers read handling, assembly generation, evaluation and curation. The workshop’s scope also includes comparisons between sequence platforms and popular long-read assemblers, examples of good and bad assemblies, and approaches to assembly phasing.

We are seeking your input, to ensure that this workshop is relevant to your research interests and analysis needs. We would like to hear your thoughts on how this workshop could benefit you and what content you would like to see included.

Please complete an expression of interest here to sign up to this workshop, and to share your experiences, feedback and suggestions.

Contact Jian Sheng Boey for further information.

 

Jul
6
Thu
VISG July Seminar: Dr Ludovic Dutoit
Jul 6 @ 2:10 am – 3:10 am

The seminar will be held on the 27th of July (note date change), 11 am in St David Seminar Room A and will be given by Dr Ludovic Dutoit of the Department of Zoology, University of Otago.

Title: Sex-linked stories in a shared genome
Abstract: When it comes to the genomics of sex, sex chromosomes are drawing most of the attention. While fascinating, they appeared much later than the sex phenotype itself. In this talk, I will explore the implications of a (mostly) shared genome on the evolution of sex. Using a combination of empirical and theoretical approaches, I will explore our current understanding of sexual conflict.

Biography: Ludo Dutoit has a range of research interests within evolutionary genomics. He is using population genomics, eDNA and transcriptomics tools to approach research questions in Ecology and Evolution. He has specific interests in understanding genomic signatures of sexual conflict, the speciation process and the evolutionary forces shaping genomic variation both in a fundamental context and within the realm of conservation biology.

Jul
7
Fri
Imputation workshop at LIC Hamilton @ TBA
Jul 7 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

This in-person workshop is jointly hosted by LIC, Genomics Aotearoa and NeSI. It is for New Zealand scientists and will explore genotype imputation techniques.  Genotype imputation is a cost-efficient approach to approximate high-density genotypes or full sequence data from low-density genotypes/low-pass sequencing data of individuals. This workshop is intended for anyone interested in learning how to use either Beagle or Minimac to impute genotypes and how to evaluate the imputation performance of these methods.

This workshop will involve:

  • A brief overview of imputation.
  • Quality control and preparation of genetic data for imputation.
  • Evaluation the imputation performance using different parameters.
  • Workshop attendees will observe demonstrations and then work through exercises.

Prerequisites: Attendees are expected to have some familiarity with basic bash and R. If you would like a refresher, you can find a copy of past workshops which cover the fundamentals of bash (here) and R (here). Additionally, to get the most out of this workshop attendees are encouraged to know about basic genetics and genomics.

Setup: This is a hands-on workshop. The workshop material will be run on the NeSI High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms – there is no need to install any software for this workshop. Instructions on how to access the NeSI HPC service will be sent out with the confirmation letter to registrants.

Participants must have their own machine to work on and plan to participate actively in the workshop. You will require a working web browser.

Sign up to the workshop at Eventbrite.

Jul
10
Mon
Ira Rangahau 2023 @ Terrace Lounge
Jul 10 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Genetics Otago together with Allan Wilson @ Otago is pleased to bring you the third Ira Rangahau Māori Symposium in July 2023. The inaugural Ira Rangahau took place in 2018, spearheaded by Associate Professor Phillip Wilcox (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa). Since then, it has become a significant fixture in the Genetics Otago calendar. Building upon its success, the Ira Rangahau 2021 symposium saw the inclusion of Dr. Alana Alexander (Ngāpuhi: Te Hikutu, Pākehā) and Dr. Catherine Collins (Kāi Tahu, Pākehā) on the organising committee. This event expanded its reach by adopting a hybrid format, accommodating both in-person and online participation.

The 3rd Ira Rangahau Symposium will be held over a full day on the 10th of July 2023 on the Dunedin campus. This event will once again convene Māori kairangahau (researchers) from around the motu to present their genetics-related research spanning diverse domains from the primary sector to health, to whakapapa and te taiao (the environment). We also welcome another researcher to our organising committee, Dr Nathan Kenny (Te Ātiawa, Ngāi Tahu).

Introduction to Bash Scripting and HPC Job Scheduler Online – Genomics Aotearoa @ Online Event
Jul 10 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

This online workshop is delivered by Genomics Aotearoa and NeSI, and will be taught from 10:00am-4:00pm NZT on Wednesday the 2nd of August, 2023, and is for New Zealand researchers interested in learning to write scripts and submit jobs to an HPC using a scheduler. This workshop is an excellent follow-up for everyone who has recently completed the Introduction to R and Introduction to Bash workshops, although these are not strictly prerequisites. You are expected to have some knowledge of basic terminal commands.

The following topics will be covered:

– Designing a variant calling workflow.
– Automating a workflow.
– An introduction to HPC.
– Working with job scheduler.

Setup
This is a fully online, hands-on workshop. This workshop material will be run on the NeSI High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms – there is no need to install any software for this workshop. Instructions on how to access the NeSI HPC service will be sent out with the confirmation letter to registrants.
The material for this workshop can be previewed here.

Participants must have their own laptops and plan to participate actively. You will require a working web browser.
If you have any questions about these workshops, including whether they are suitable for you, please contact tyler.mcinnes@otago.ac.nz.

Register for this workshop at Eventbrite here.

Jul
18
Tue
GA Training workshop: Intermediate Shell for Bioinformatics @ Online
Jul 18 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Training workshop: Intermediate Shell for Bioinformatics
Tuesday, July 18, 10am – 4pm, online
This workshop is hosted by Genomics Aotearoa and NeSI and is for New Zealand researchers interested in progressing their abilities with Shell.

The workshop will include:

An overview of the Shell, UNIX and Linux.
Downloading data from a remote source and checking data integrity.
Recap navigating files and directories, and commands used in routine tasks.
Inspecting and manipulating data, part 1 (the head, less, grep, and sed commands).
Inspecting and manipulating data, part 2 (using awk and bioawk to process text).
Automating file processing.
Challenges: solve example molecular biology problems using shell scripts.
This workshop assumes some familiarity with Shell. You will need to be able to do the following tasks via command line:

Navigating files and directories.
An understanding of full versus relative paths.
Working with files and directories (examining files, creating, copying, moving and removing).
Use a command line-based text editor such as nano.
And have a basic understanding of:

File/directory permission in Linux.
For loops (preferred, not required).
If you lack the above skills, you can use these sites as a refresher: Introduction to Command Line Carpentries lesson https://datacarpentry.org/shell-genomics/

Setup: This is a fully online, hands-on workshop. The workshop material will be run on the NeSI High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms – there is no need to install any software for this workshop. Instructions on how to access the NeSI HPC service will be sent out with the confirmation letter to registrants one week prior to the workshop.

You can view the workshop material, including the objectives and content, here: https://genomicsaotearoa.github.io/shell-for-bioinformatics/

Participants must have their own machine to work on and plan to participate actively in the workshop. You will require a working web browser.

Register for this workshop at Eventbrite

If you have any questions about this workshop, including whether it is suitable for you, please contact tyler.mcinnes@otago.ac.nz.

Jul
24
Mon
PacBio HiFi Sequencing Experience Tour Roadshow @ Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin
Jul 24 – Jul 26 all-day

Join us from 24-26 July 2023 in either Auckland, Wellington or Dunedin for the PacBio HiFi Sequencing Experience Tour Roadshow Event. New Zealand is the ninth stop of the PacBio Asia Pacific HiFi Sequencing Experience Tour, to find out how HiFi sequencing is helping scientists find accurate and actionable genome-wide insights for the most important scientific discoveries.

Simply select one preferred location from the 3 locations in Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin.

There will be presentations by industry-leading scientists and the opportunity for peer-to-peer discussions and networking during this event. Whether you have a single sample or a multi-genome project, complete and accurate long-read sequencing is designed to support your desire to make an impact. 

Together with our partner, Millennium Science, we look forward to meeting you in person.

Highlights include:

The opportunity to connect with and hear from your peers
Immerse yourself in rich scientific content from across the Plant & Animal, Human, Rare & Inherited Diseases and Microbial genomics segments
Learn how to take full advantage of your samples and the PacBio HiFi advantage

See the website for more details.

Jul
26
Wed
Constructing Pangenome Graphs with PGGB online – Genomics Aotearoa @ Online
Jul 26 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

This online workshop is delivered by Genomics Aotearoa and NeSI, and will be taught from 10:00am-4:00pm NZT on Wednesday the 26th of July, 2023, and is for New Zealand researchers interested in learning to create and work with pangenome graphs.

This workshop will include:
– An introduction to pangenome graphs.
– Setup guide for using the tools and data in the workshop.
– Overview of the PGGB toolkit.
– Choosing parameters to construct a graph.
– QC
– Extracting variant data.
– Mapping short reads against a pangenome graph.

This workshop assumes some familiarity with Shell. You will need to be able to do the following tasks via command line:
– Navigating files and directories.
– An understanding on full versus relative paths.
– Working with files and directories (examining files, creating, copying, moving and removing).
– Use a command line-based text editor such as nano.

If you lack the above skills, you can use these sites as a refresher:
– Introduction to Command Line Carpentries lesson https://datacarpentry.org/shell-genomics/

Setup
This is a fully online, hands-on workshop. This workshop material will be run on the NeSI High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms – there is no need to install any software for this workshop. Instructions on how to access the NeSI HPC service will be sent out with the confirmation letter to registrants.
The material for this workshop can be previewed here.

Participants must have their own laptops and plan to participate actively. You will require a working web browser.
If you have any questions about these workshops, including whether they are suitable for you, please contact tyler.mcinnes@otago.ac.nz.

Register for this workshop at Eventbrite here.

Jul
27
Thu
VISG July Seminar @ St David Seminar Room A, G.02
Jul 27 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Aug
2
Wed
Webinar: What is 3D genomics and why it matters @ Webinar
Aug 2 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Dovetail Genomics is organising a webinar with the title of “What is 3D genomics and why it matters”on 2nd Aug. In this webinar, we explore the vital role of chromosome folding and spatial organisation in gene regulation, and its seamless integration with multi-omic strategies such as transcriptomics and epigenomics. Discover real-world applications of 3D Genomics in gene regulation and oncology, including oncogenic regulation in multiple myeloma and enhancer hijacking in prostate cancer. Plus, learn how to effectively incorporate 3D Genomics into your research.

What you’ll learn:

  • How 3D Genomics fits into the multi-omic toolbox (including ChIP-seq & ATAC-seq).
  • What information 3D Genomics uniquely unlocks.
  • Why integrating 3D Genomics provides valuable insight into your research.

Speaker: Cory Padilla, Ph. D., Product Manager, Dovetail Genomics, part of Cantata Bio

DTG Webinar_2nd Aug