These monthly meetings are open to all with an interest in applied bioinformatics research. Meetings will include a <25 minute presentation (work in progress, journal club etc.) with lots of time for discussion and constructive critique.

A slightly different one from an external speaker. Prof Mark Blaxter (Programme Lead for the Sanger Tree of Life Project) will deliver Busy about the genomic tree of life by zoom. We are inviting our Genomics3 and PGT Bioinformatics students so we can hear about this flagship project and then have a Q&A with Mark about his career, novelty in research, and seeking out the unknown unknowns.

21 October 2026, 1300-1400 | B/K/018, The University of York

Run by the Research IT team, this is an informal interdisciplinary York group for people who work with research software (with a glorious new logo...). Attend talks on technical topics, get support from the regular drop-in sessions, and join the Slack community. Upcoming events are listed below, or you can subscribe to their calendar. There is a Code Clinic tomorrow 1400-1600. You can use the calendar to book a slot. This is the first of six planned sessions.

When you start writing software it is often very useful to think about the development process and how you will make your software sustainable in the long term. In this module we will introduce important aspects of software development in research: software lifecycle, management plan, licences and dissemination. This module should allow you to ask yourself the right questions when starting a research software project.

28 October 2026, 1400-1500 | Online

If you’ve never heard of or used version control and Git before this is the course for you. We start by introducing version control and exploring how it can be beneficial to researchers, then we introduce some useful tools and get started with some basic workflow using these tools. We build on those foundations with collaborative exercises that introduce key concepts such as forks, pull requests and branches and give you the chance to get some hands-on experience with using version control in a research setting.
This course will be repeated in January 2027 - date TBC.

4 November 2026, 1400-1700 | In person (room location shared after booking)

If you want to do some bioinformatics, but don't know where to begin - this is the place!

Alastair Droop's team within the TF supports research and training on a chargeable basis, ranging from routine data management to bespoke high-level analysis and paper-ready figures. Get in touch to discuss your project and requirements today.

The Data Science Lab also runs training courses. Upcoming courses are listed below, or contact the team to book 1:1 support or register your interest in future courses.

The University has developed an AI hub alongside its existing digital skills training resources. This is obviously a rapidly developing space, so keep checking back. Particularly around which LLM the University actually allows on managed machines (i.e. Gemini).

Google's training partner Getech is coming to campus to deliver staff workshops on generative AI. There are separate tracks for professional services staff and academic & research staff. These sessions are all about using generative AI effectively to support and augment your existing work patterns.

4 December 2026 - time depends on strand | In person - location depends on strand

NorthernBUG brings together researchers, students and trainers 2-3 times per year across the north of England for free 1-day meetings. These are great sessions to present developing work and are all about building a regional bioinformatics network. The focus is being a "user group" rather than only presenting polished work for a conference.

Follow NorthernBUG on LinkedIn or join the google mailing list.


Pencil in Wednesday 14th April for NorthernBUG18 in Leeds.

The N8 CIR Summer 2027 internship programme is now open for project applications! Each N8 university can host up to four eight-week internships, with each student's £3,500 stipend funded by N8 CIR. Each project should involve a digital Research Technical Professional (dRTP), and we fund an hour of their time each week. If you are unable or don't know where to start finding a dRTP, we can help.

Whether you're a researcher or a dRTP, we'd love to hear your ideas. We particularly welcome proposals from postdoctoral and early career researchers who want to take their first step into supervising. Call for project proposals closes on 4th January at midnight. Details for supervisors here.

Open Research at York
Open Access publishing at York
Research Data York repository - free archive service for all York research data.
UoY - six new digital skills pathways for staff.
UoY - digital skills workshops for students.
Research Data Management - a practical guide for York
Join York's Research Data Stewardship Network - useful community if you're a data person!
Book an RDM appointment with the library team
York Research IT Training and Support
York Research Coding Club
Information on Viking and the Viking user wiki
York Data Management Plan Review Service

The ELIXIR-UK All Hands is the UK Node’s flagship community event, held annually to bring together members, collaborators, and partners from across the UK’s life sciences research infrastructure. It is open to all members and collaborators of the ELIXIR-UK Node, spanning research data management, training, human data, bioinformatics tools, digital research infrastructures and much more.
This meeting is free to anyone from an ELIXIR-UK member (including York), and travel bursaries are available.

25-26 November 2026 | Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX

Genome Informatics 2026 will once again be hosted on the Wellcome Genome Campus. This will be the 26th meeting in the series that alternates with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
This year’s conference will focus on algorithmic and informatics approaches to understanding genome structure and biology, and their application to human health and disease. It will showcase a range of methods for large genomic dataset analysis, including genome assembly, sequence algorithms, variant discovery, and functional genomics. Key themes will include pangenomes, evolutionary biology, single-cell and spatial omics, microbial methodologies, and genomic insights into cancer and other complex diseases.
Abstract submission closed. Virtual registration available until 23rd November.

2-4 December 2026 | Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton

In person registration 27th October. Virtual 1st December.
Over the past two decades, data-driven research has revealed important features of the human gut microbiome, such as its resilience, diversity, and highly personalised composition. However, our current view of its functional capabilities and interaction with the host is still largely descriptive. As the field now strives for causal and mechanistic insights to achieve a deeper understanding of the links between the microbiome and human health, progress is being hindered by a lack of model gut microorganisms and foundational functional knowledge.

8-10 December 2026 | EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany

This is a free (to academics, research staff and students) massive conference and life sciences event showcasing the research and infrastructure activities around biological data in the UK. This includes massive projects run by the UK Biobank and Genomics England, a large industry trade show and is run in an incredibly parallel fashion in a single hall with silen disco style headphones!
Tickets available from 22nd September, but poster abstract submission and suggested talk topics now open.

27-28 January 2027 | ExCeL, London