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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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GO Annual Symposium – New Date Confirmed!


As usual, the Symposium will highlight the fantastic research being done by GO members from around the country through presentations, posters and awards. We are aware that this date clashes with a couple of other conferences happening in NZ and we apologise if this means you are unable to attend.

Date: Thursday, 20th February 2025
Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Venue: TBC

Programme
A draft programme will be available here soon.

Registration
Registration for this event is now open via the button below. If you had already registered for the event scheduled for December we ask you to please register again so that we have accurate numbers for catering. If you made a payment at that time, this should have been refunded to you – please contact us if you don’t think this has been processed.

Registration will remain open until Monday the 3rd of February, however we hope that by opening now, prior to end of year budget cut-offs, you maybe able to charge the registration fee to any surplus in your 2024 University accounts.

Register Now

Registration Fee
Due to budget constraints, we will be charging a $50 per person registration fee for all attendees to subsidise the costs associated with the Symposium. We have received confirmation that this registration fee can be paid from S accounts, and if you are in a position to make a donation on top of this fee, we would gladly receive it. However, we do not want the payment to be a barrier to attendance, so if you are not in a position to make a payment, please contact us go@otago.ac.nz.

Payment Methods
Payments from an S account (or other University account) can be journaled to Genetics Otago account GL.10.LH.A14.2541 via your finance associate. Please include the surname(s) of the registrants that the payment covers in the narration.

If you need to make payment using funds from outside the University this can be arranged via the Cashier’s Office. Please contact us for details (go@otago.ac.nz).

Awards
The Annual Genetics Otago Awards including The Genetics Otago Award, Outstanding Mentor Awards, Student Supervisor Award, Publication Awards, Poster Awards and Science Communication Prize will be presented at the conclusion of the Symposium and nominations for these are now open.

All award nominations should be submitted by email to go@otago.ac.nz.

Please note: Award nominations are now open until Monday 3rd February at 5pm.

Full details of the awards can be found here: Award Details.


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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.


Apr
18
Thu
Ask The Experts: Hi-C Demystified, How to Choose the Right Assay for Your Project @ Online
Apr 18 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Webinar

Ask The Experts: Hi-C Demystified

How to Choose the Right Assay for Your Project

Speaker:

Dr. Myriam El Khawand leads the customer success team at Dovetail Genomics and has been with the company for over 5 years helping customers achieve their research goals using Dovetail proximity ligation kits and analysis solutions.

What will be covered:
3D genomics explores the influence that chromatin architecture plays in gene regulation. The primary method employed is Hi-C. With Hi-C coming in many flavors and forms, it can be overwhelming to know which assay is going to work best for your research goals.

Join us for this technical webinar where we will go into the ins and outs of the different Hi-C methods and chemistries, provide guidance on when to choose a particular option, and discuss the implications of that choice. Myriam’s presentation will include time for an in-depth QnA.

Apr
19
Fri
Introduction to Flow Cytometry Webinar @ Online
Apr 19 @ 9:00 am – 10:00 am
The Otago Micro and Nanoscale Imaging – Flow Cytometry Unit, in conjunction with Mediray and BioLegend, invites you to an Introduction to Flow Cytometry Webinar. This webinar will be in two parts and cover the following:
  • Introduction to spectral and traditional flow cytometry and data analysis (Session 1)
  • Considerations for Spectral Flow Cytometry Sample Preparation (Session 1/2)
  • Designing and optimising a multi-colour panel (Session 2)
Webinar time: 9:00 am to 10:00 am
Webinar dates are:
Note! Calendar links have been updated to include Microsoft Teams Meeting ID and Password as well.
Meeting ID: 215 871 135 447
Passcode: tPgUCh
Meeting ID: 435 413 551 830
Passcode: 6sA2Np
May
1
Wed
Genomics Aotearoa Early Career Researcher meeting @ Wellington
May 1 @ 8:00 am – May 2 @ 5:00 pm

Genomics Aotearoa is again holding its annual meeting of postdocs and early career researchers, organised by Training Coordinator Tyler McInnes. This year’s meeting in Wellington on May1-2 spans two days and includes a diverse spread of workshops and networking events.

 

More details to come.

 

May
8
Wed
Genomics Aotearoa: Single-Cell RNA-seq Analysis Workshop @ Online
May 8 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

This workshop, taught by Professor Mik Black, will introduce skills and tools required for the analysis of single-cell RNA-seq data (scRNA-seq data) in R. The workshop will be taught online over four half-days, on May 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th  (9am – 1pm). You should attend all 4 sessions.

This is an advanced workshop which requires an intermediate level of R knowledge and experience. To participate in this workshop you must have either completed the Genomics Aotearoa Intermediate R workshop, or have an equivalent level of experience (e.g., be a semi-regular R user). Because of the complexity of this workshop we will not have the time or resources to solve coding errors. However, the focus of this workshop will be on the concepts and discussion of the statistical methodology rather than your ability to code quickly.

Because we expect a high level of interest in this workshop and we have limited spaces, we are inviting expressions of interest no later than Friday April 26th and will select a group of attendees based on needs and experience. We will endeavour to maximise the overall positive impact on research in Aotearoa and distribute this training as fairly as possible. You will be advised whether you are able to attend the training by end of day Monday April 29th

If we are not able to offer you a space in this training, you will be kept informed about future options for scRNA-seq training.

What will this workshop cover?

  • Alignment and feature counting with Cell Ranger (briefly).
  • QC and exploratory analysis.
  • Normalisation.
  • Sctransform: Variant Stabilising transformation.
  • Feature selection and dimensionality reduction.
  • Batch correction and data set integration.
  • Clustering.
  • Identification of cluster marker genes.
  • Differential gene expression analysis.
  • Differential abundance.

*Note that some of this material may be mentioned only briefly due to time constraints, in which case you will be pointed towards supplementary material for self-guided learning.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Genomics Aotearoa Training Coordinator Dr Tyler McInnes (tyler.mcinnes@otago.ac.nz).

May
9
Thu
Genomics Aotearoa: Single-Cell RNA-seq Analysis Workshop @ Online
May 9 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

This workshop, taught by Professor Mik Black, will introduce skills and tools required for the analysis of single-cell RNA-seq data (scRNA-seq data) in R. The workshop will be taught online over four half-days, on May 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th  (9am – 1pm). You should attend all 4 sessions.

This is an advanced workshop which requires an intermediate level of R knowledge and experience. To participate in this workshop you must have either completed the Genomics Aotearoa Intermediate R workshop, or have an equivalent level of experience (e.g., be a semi-regular R user). Because of the complexity of this workshop we will not have the time or resources to solve coding errors. However, the focus of this workshop will be on the concepts and discussion of the statistical methodology rather than your ability to code quickly.

Because we expect a high level of interest in this workshop and we have limited spaces, we are inviting expressions of interest no later than Friday April 26th and will select a group of attendees based on needs and experience. We will endeavour to maximise the overall positive impact on research in Aotearoa and distribute this training as fairly as possible. You will be advised whether you are able to attend the training by end of day Monday April 29th

If we are not able to offer you a space in this training, you will be kept informed about future options for scRNA-seq training.

What will this workshop cover?

  • Alignment and feature counting with Cell Ranger (briefly).
  • QC and exploratory analysis.
  • Normalisation.
  • Sctransform: Variant Stabilising transformation.
  • Feature selection and dimensionality reduction.
  • Batch correction and data set integration.
  • Clustering.
  • Identification of cluster marker genes.
  • Differential gene expression analysis.
  • Differential abundance.

*Note that some of this material may be mentioned only briefly due to time constraints, in which case you will be pointed towards supplementary material for self-guided learning.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Genomics Aotearoa Training Coordinator Dr Tyler McInnes (tyler.mcinnes@otago.ac.nz).

May
15
Wed
Genomics Aotearoa: Single-Cell RNA-seq Analysis Workshop @ Online
May 15 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

This workshop, taught by Professor Mik Black, will introduce skills and tools required for the analysis of single-cell RNA-seq data (scRNA-seq data) in R. The workshop will be taught online over four half-days, on May 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th  (9am – 1pm). You should attend all 4 sessions.

This is an advanced workshop which requires an intermediate level of R knowledge and experience. To participate in this workshop you must have either completed the Genomics Aotearoa Intermediate R workshop, or have an equivalent level of experience (e.g., be a semi-regular R user). Because of the complexity of this workshop we will not have the time or resources to solve coding errors. However, the focus of this workshop will be on the concepts and discussion of the statistical methodology rather than your ability to code quickly.

Because we expect a high level of interest in this workshop and we have limited spaces, we are inviting expressions of interest no later than Friday April 26th and will select a group of attendees based on needs and experience. We will endeavour to maximise the overall positive impact on research in Aotearoa and distribute this training as fairly as possible. You will be advised whether you are able to attend the training by end of day Monday April 29th

If we are not able to offer you a space in this training, you will be kept informed about future options for scRNA-seq training.

What will this workshop cover?

  • Alignment and feature counting with Cell Ranger (briefly).
  • QC and exploratory analysis.
  • Normalisation.
  • Sctransform: Variant Stabilising transformation.
  • Feature selection and dimensionality reduction.
  • Batch correction and data set integration.
  • Clustering.
  • Identification of cluster marker genes.
  • Differential gene expression analysis.
  • Differential abundance.

*Note that some of this material may be mentioned only briefly due to time constraints, in which case you will be pointed towards supplementary material for self-guided learning.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Genomics Aotearoa Training Coordinator Dr Tyler McInnes (tyler.mcinnes@otago.ac.nz).

May
16
Thu
Genomics Aotearoa: Single-Cell RNA-seq Analysis Workshop @ Online
May 16 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

This workshop, taught by Professor Mik Black, will introduce skills and tools required for the analysis of single-cell RNA-seq data (scRNA-seq data) in R. The workshop will be taught online over four half-days, on May 8th, 9th, 15th and 16th  (9am – 1pm). You should attend all 4 sessions.

This is an advanced workshop which requires an intermediate level of R knowledge and experience. To participate in this workshop you must have either completed the Genomics Aotearoa Intermediate R workshop, or have an equivalent level of experience (e.g., be a semi-regular R user). Because of the complexity of this workshop we will not have the time or resources to solve coding errors. However, the focus of this workshop will be on the concepts and discussion of the statistical methodology rather than your ability to code quickly.

Because we expect a high level of interest in this workshop and we have limited spaces, we are inviting expressions of interest no later than Friday April 26th and will select a group of attendees based on needs and experience. We will endeavour to maximise the overall positive impact on research in Aotearoa and distribute this training as fairly as possible. You will be advised whether you are able to attend the training by end of day Monday April 29th

If we are not able to offer you a space in this training, you will be kept informed about future options for scRNA-seq training.

What will this workshop cover?

  • Alignment and feature counting with Cell Ranger (briefly).
  • QC and exploratory analysis.
  • Normalisation.
  • Sctransform: Variant Stabilising transformation.
  • Feature selection and dimensionality reduction.
  • Batch correction and data set integration.
  • Clustering.
  • Identification of cluster marker genes.
  • Differential gene expression analysis.
  • Differential abundance.

*Note that some of this material may be mentioned only briefly due to time constraints, in which case you will be pointed towards supplementary material for self-guided learning.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Genomics Aotearoa Training Coordinator Dr Tyler McInnes (tyler.mcinnes@otago.ac.nz).

May
31
Fri
SEMINAR: Epigenetic clocks for age prediction @ Online
May 31 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

A reminder about this week’s Genomics Aotearoa seminar, online Friday, May 31 at 3pm.

We welcome Dafni Anastasiadi (Plant and Food Research). Dafni will be talking on Epigenetic clocks for age prediction.

Please invite colleagues to join our genomics community and take part in this seminar. Look forward to seeing you there. Questions and discussions are welcome.

Join from PC, Mac, iOS, or Android:
https://otago.zoom.us/j/97097442106?pwd=RlczU3VCdFBmbmt4Yng4VW5OcHdSdz09

About Dafni
Dafni Anastasiadi is a scientist at Plant and Food Research, Nelson. Her research interests focus on the role of epigenetics in eco-evolutionary processes using marine species as models. Her work has produced results with far-reaching implications in the epigenetics field, including the first epigenetic clock to accurately predict age in fish.

Jun
5
Wed
WORKSHOP: Reproducible Bioinformatics with Nextflow and nf-core @ Online
Jun 5 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

WORKSHOP: Reproducible Bioinformatics with Nextflow and nf-core
This online workshop is delivered by Genomics Aotearoa and NeSI, and will be taught from 10:00am to 4:00pm NZT on Wednesday the 5th of June, 2024, and is for New Zealand researchers interested in learning to use Nextflow.

Register for Reproducible Bioinformatics with Nextflow and nf-core

Nextflow is a management software system which facilitates the writing of scalable and reproducible scientific workflows. As a management system, Nextflow will simplify the development, monitoring, execution and sharing of pipelines. Using Nextflow will improve the reproducibility, portability, and run time of tasks.

Nextflow can integrate pipelines written in common scripting languages such as R and Python and couple these with environment management systems such as Docker, Singularity and Conda. Nextflow uses Domain Specific Language (DSL) which makes running workflows on cloud or high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure easy.

This workshop will also introduce nf-core: a community-driven repository of peer-reviewed best practice analysis pipelines written in Nextflow.

This workshop is comprised of three sections:
Section 1
– An introduction to Nextflow.
– Useful terminology.
– Working in the Nextflow environment.
Section 2
– An introduction to nf-core – a repository of existing pipelines.
– General structure of a pipeline.
– Running and customising your first pipeline.
Section 3
– Customising and configuring pipelines.
– Metrics and shareable reports.

Setup
This is a fully online, hands-on workshop. This workshop material will be run on the NeSI OpenOnDemand training environment – there is no need to install any software for this workshop. Instructions on how to access the training platform will be sent out with the confirmation letter to registrants.
Participants must have their own laptops and plan to participate actively. You will require a working web browser.
Prerequisites: You must have basic command line (Bash) skills to participate in this workshop.
If you have any questions about these workshops, including whether they are suitable for you, please contact tyler.mcinnes@otago.ac.nz.

Jul
17
Wed
Genomics Aotearoa Workshop: Introduction to R (online) @ Online
Jul 17 @ 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 17th of July, 2024, and is for New Zealand researchers interested in learning R. This workshop functions as a prerequisite for the RNA-seq Data Analysis workshop, and the material provides a basis for many workflows in R.

Some of the topics covered in the workshop are:

– An introduction to R and RStudio.

– R basics: The R language, reading data into R, storing data as objects.

– R packages.

– Publication-quality data presentation using ggplot2.

– Knitr: keep track of workflow and produce easy-to-follow reports of your work.

– Where to get more help when you are ready to do more.

We assume the learner has no prior experience with the tools covered in the workshop. However, learners are expected to have some familiarity with biological concepts.

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:

https://genomicsaotearoa.github.io/Introduction-to-R/

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.