We are going to the 2023 NIH Research Festival on September 20, 2023 at NIH Bethesda Campus. We will talk about RNAseq bioinformatics in a workshop sponsored by Zymo Research. We will present our code-free RNAseq solution to help lab scientists. We hope to see you there!

Read workshop abstract below

The cost of genome sequencing has decreased significantly with the introduction of new sequencing technologies. However, most researchers lack sufficient bioinformatics personnel, training, or infrastructure, leading to time-consuming and challenging data analysis and interpretation, often relying on collaborators for grant applications and publication. Hence, it is crucial to broaden non-specialists’ access to bioinformatics tools to maximize the impact of biomedical data. Though some platforms aim to address this challenge, they are either proprietary or still require significant programming or bioinformatics knowledge to use effectively.

To address this, we are developing Aladdin, a simple point-and-click platform for running open-source bioinformatic pipelines with comprehensive documentation. Currently, Aladdin encompasses pipelines for transcriptomics, epigenetics, and microbiomics. During the workshop, we will use RNA-Seq as an example to demo a workflow of reads QC, trimming, alignment, expression quantification, differential gene expression and pathway enrichment analyses on Aladdin. We will also provide guides on interpreting the analysis results.

Our primary object is to instill confidence of the attendees in utilizing bioinformatics tools to effectively analyze their NGS data independently. By simplifying and democratizing bioinformatics, we believe Aladdin can empower researchers from diverse backgrounds to make impactful contributions in their respective fields.