I am fortunate enough to be a contributor to a workshop titled Meta-omics in Environmental Engineering Research. Theory, Statistics, and Data Interpretation, taking place on Tuesday May 14th, 2019 at the 2019 AEESP Research and Education Conference.

I will be posting my slides/presentation in the next day or two, as well as providing links to the resources the team have been putting together.

Download the workshop pamphlet here.

Abstract
High throughput meta-omics methods are being routinely used to probe microbial community structure and function in environmental engineering research. While this makes the microbial world more accessible, robust and rational data interpretation is not straightforward. Further, the technologies underpinning these methods are also changing at a rapid pace; this can make hypothesis-appropriate methodological choices also very challenging. The objectives of this workshop are (1) to outline best practices for method selection and data interpretation for microbial community structure and function characterization and (2) to identify imminent technological advances that may influence the choice of molecular methods in the near future.

The intended learning outcomes of the workshop are as follows: Participants should be able (1) pick the appropriate meta-omic method for their research questions, (2) identify data analysis approaches best suited to their method of choice, (3) understand the limitations of each method and associated data, and (4) incorporate a working knowledge of upcoming changes in meta-omics methods into their planned research. Participants will be provided with virtual resources and reference materials, including a virtual machine containing pre-installed software, example data and tutorials/resources, to assist them as they begin to explore the meta-omic techniques independently.

Participants should be using or plan to use meta-omics methods with working understanding of microbiology and statistics.

Organizers:

  • Christopher Anderson, Northeastern University
  • Zihan Dai, University of Glasgow
  • Christopher Lawson, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Ameet Pinto, Northeastern University
  • Jacob Price, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Maria Sevillano, Northeastern University
  • Varun Srinivasan, Brown and Caldwell
  • Ryan Ziels, University of British Columbia