Workshops

Four satellite workshops will take place on 10 September 2013 on Göttingen's North Campus.

Workshops are free of charge, but registration is required; registration for the main conference includes an option to enroll for a workshop. If you wish to attend a specific workshop only, but not the GCB 2013, please contact the respective organisers, indicating your name and degree, your affiliation (including address and phone number), and your profession or subject of study.

Statistical Methods in Bioinformatics

(organised by Tim Beißbarth)

10 September 2013, 13:15-17:15, HS1, Faculty of Physics

Statistical methods are crucial in many bioinformatics problems and applications. Especially the analysis of large scale omics data requires not only massive computation and efficient algorithms, but also relies on solid statistical methodology. The two scientific associations, i.e. the German Society on Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (GMDS) and the German region of the International Biometric Society (IBS), have therefore established a joint working group that aims to coordinate the activity of the active members that are working on the border between bioinformatics and biostatistics by organising regular workshops and other common activities.
Here, in this workshop several talks should present topics coming from the main themes that have been in the focus of this working group in recent years. Especially these topics include methods for statistical analysis of high-throughput omics data, machine learning approaches on high-dimensional data and methods for network reconstruction.

Suggestions for topics and proposals for talks are welcome. 

For further information, please see http://www.gcb2013.de/workshops/statistical-methods-in-bioinformatics

Computational Methods for Metagenomics and Meta-Omics

(organised by Peter Meinicke and Thomas Lingner)

10 September 2013, 13:30-17:30, HS2, Faculty of Physics

Metagenomics has become a powerful tool for exploring ecosystems in terms of the overall genomic potential of the associated biological entities. The integration of data from metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics and meta-metabolomics has extended metagenomic research to a full systems biology approach.
In this workshop we want to bring together bioinformaticians and biologists interested in discussing recent progress and challenges in computational analysis of metagenomes. We welcome contributions from all related fields that show difficulties and possible solutions in the processing of meta-omics data.

Abstract proposals for short oral presentations (20 min) of tools, methods or open problems can be submitted until 31 July 2013.

For further information, please see http://www.gcb2013.de/workshops/computational-methods-for-metagenomics-and-meta-omics

Alignment-Free Sequence Comparison

(organised by Burkhard Morgenstern and Susana Vinga)

10 September 2013, 10:00-16:00, HS3, Faculty of Physics

Traditional methods for nucleic acid and protein sequence analysis rely on multiple sequence alignment (MSA). In addition, a large number of alignment-free approaches have been developed for sequence analysis during the last decades. Most of these methods use k-tuple frequencies to define dissimilarity measures between sequences as a basis for phylogeny reconstruction and classification. In genome-based phylogeny studies, alignment-free methods have several advantages compared to the more traditional alignment-based approaches: they are much faster, they do not require sets of alignable orthologous genes, they are not affected by MSA errors, and they can take coding as well as non-coding parts of genomes into account. At our workshop, we will discuss new developments in the field of alignment-free sequence comparison. The workshop will be small and informal, the focus will be on open questions and ongoing projects rather than on final results.

Suggestions for topics and proposals for oral presentations are welcome.

Please contact: bmorgen(at)gwdg(dot)de

For further information, please see http://www.gcb2013.de/workshops/alignment-free-sequence-comparison

Methods for Integrated Analysis of Multi-Level Datasets

(organised by Edgar Wingender)

10 September 2013, 14:00-18:00, HS4, Faculty of Physics

The EU-funded project MIMOmics aims at developing a statistical framework for the integrated analysis of metabolomics, proteomics, glycomics and genomic datasets. For supporting all analysis steps needed for identifying and interpreting omics-based biomarkers, data derived from multiple omics platforms across several study designs and populations will be integrated. Specific steps to be addressed include: experimental design, pipelines for data gathering, cleaning of noisy spectra, predictive modelling of biomarkers, meta-analysis, and causality assessment. To enhance our understanding, systems approaches are considered for pathways and structural modelling of biological networks.

The goal of this workshop is to present to the scientific community the concepts of the project, including the methodologies and algorithms employed, in order to stimulate the exchange of ideas and to come up with a comprehensive picture about the requirements in the field.

For more information, please see http://www.gcb2013.de/workshops/methods-for-integrated-analysis-of-multi-level-datasets
or contact: edgar.wingender(at)bioinf.med.uni-goettingen(dot)de