BV-BRC Bioinformatics Workshops – 2026

BV-BRC May Workshop

The BV-BRC (Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center) team is excited to announce two upcoming Bioinformatics Workshops in 2025. Each workshop will show researchers how to analyze and explore bacterial and viral pathogen data using the BV-BRC website and command-line tools, with hands-on examples across bacterial and viral workflows.

Both workshops include two separate components—a bacterial track and a viral track—and participants may register for one or both. Each event also includes time for command-line training and opportunities to try out our AI Copilot.

Registration fills up quickly—register now to attend one of these workshops!

Workshop 1: J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI)

Register Here: BV-BRC Workshop at JCVI 2026 Registration

Dates: March 2–6, 2026 Location: La Jolla, California (San Diego County)

Workshop Structure

Bacterial Component March 2 (Monday) – March 3 (Tuesday) Focus:

  • Antimicrobial resistance data

  • Genomic and comparative analyses

  • Metagenomics

  • Transcriptomics

Command-Line & Integration Session March 4 (Wednesday) Focus:

  • Command-line interface

  • Programmatic data search, retrieval, and job submission

  • Testing the new AI Copilot

Viral Component March 5 (Thursday) – March 6 (Friday) Focus:

  • Data search

  • Phylogenetics

  • Comparative genomics

  • Assembly and annotation

  • Subspecies classification

  • Protein structure

  • Surveillance data

  • SFVT data

  • Transcriptomics

  • Includes hands-on docking service exercises

Location

Room 306 J. Craig Venter Institute 4120 Capricorn Lane La Jolla, CA 92037

Workshop 2: Chicago / Argonne National Laboratory

Register Here: Argonne Visitor Registration Use lhundley@anl.gov as the sponsor email; she will receive your information and process your registration.

Dates: June 1–5, 2026 Location: Lemont, Illinois (Chicago area)

Workshop Structure

Bacterial Component June 1 (Monday) – June 2 (Tuesday) Focus: - Antimicrobial resistance exploration - Genomic and comparative genomics - Metagenomic and transcriptomic workflows

Command-Line and AI Copilot Session June 3 (Wednesday) Focus:

  • Command-line interface

  • Programmatic data search, retrieval, and job submission

  • Testing out the new AI Copilot

Viral Component June 4 (Thursday) – June 5 (Friday) Focus:

  • Phylogenetics

  • Comparative genomics

  • Sequence assembly and annotation

  • Subspecies classification

  • Surveillance exploration

  • Protein structure

  • SFVT data

  • Transcriptomics

  • Includes hands-on docking service exercises

Location

Building 240 Conference Center – Room 1416 Argonne National Laboratory 9700 Cass Avenue Lemont, IL 60439

REGISTRATION

  • JCVI Workshop:

FAQ

  1. Is there a fee for registration? No. Registration is completely free. Travel and meals are arranged by attendees on their own.

  2. Does my registration confirm my participation? No. Once you apply, we will confirm your attendance by email.

  3. Do I need prior bioinformatics experience? No prior experience is required.

  4. Will I need to bring my own computer? Yes, please bring your own laptop.

  5. Are hotel room blocks available? Room block information is being finalized. This page will be updated once confirmed.

  6. Do I need to bring my own data? No; all workshop examples use publicly available datasets. However, if you have questions about your own data, the BV-BRC team can help you explore how to analyze it.

  7. Are scholarships available? BV-BRC does not offer travel scholarships. However, external opportunities include: