Bioinformatic approaches to understand the role of the human microbiome in health and disease

This webinar took place on 6 March 2024. The materials are accessible on the EMBL-EBI Training website: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/events...

The human microbiome represents a diverse community of microbes with important roles for the maintenance of human health. The wealth of metagenomics data currently available has brought about a new era of research for the human microbiome field. The ability to reconstruct high-quality microbial genomes purely from metagenomic sequencing data has unlocked our ability to study the hidden microbial universe living alongside us. Given there are thousands of human-associated bacterial species that cannot yet be experimentally characterised, there is a need to develop and apply bioinformatics methods to better understand their role in health and disease.

This webinar will provide an overview of current metagenomic approaches to study the human microbiome and introduce several statistical methods that can be used to link its composition and function to different human phenotypes and populations.

Who is this course for?
This webinar is suitable for those interested in studying the microbiomes of any environment or host. Although the presentation will be focused on the human microbiome, the methods and techniques discussed will also be applicable to other microbial ecosystems. No prior knowledge of bioinformatics is required, but undergraduate level knowledge of biology would be useful.

This event is part of a webinar series that highlights contemporary concepts, methodologies, and valuable resources for examining microbial ecosystems and their influence on the environment and human health. For additional topics within this series and registration information, please visit the following link: Exploring microbial ecosystems.

Outcomes
By the end of the webinar you will be able to:
- Describe what is the human microbiome and why it is important
- Know which bioinformatic methods are available to extract biological insights from metagenomic data
- Recognise current challenges and limitations in the microbiome field and its long-term potential

This webinar was recorded on 6 March 2024. The presentation slides are available at https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/events...

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