DRP-HCB Training Courses
Training courses
Data science for biology (2026)
Learn data science skills with biological datasets. This course introduces the R programming language. R is an extremely powerful tool for data science, statistical analysis and data visualisation. It is favoured by biologists due to its extensive library of packages for bioinformatics and genomic analysis.
The Data Science for Biology course is divided into six modules. Participants can register for the full course or individual modules.
- Introduction to R and RStudio - 17th February
- Data manipulation and visualisation (Tidyverse) - 17th March
- Genomic datasets in R (Bioconductor) - 21st April
- Introduction to statistics (RStatix) - 12th May
- Differential expression analysis (DESeq2) - 9th June
- Data publication and presentation (Quarto and Shiny) - 23rd June
Each module consists of:
- A full day in person workshop
- Online training material for self study
- A practical exercise that can be tailored to your own data
- Access to monthly bioinformatics drop in sessions
Cost
- All modules: £200
- Individual modules: £50
Registration
Please complete this registration form to sign up for the course or individual modules:
Data Science for Biology Registration Form
This course is hosted by The Bioinformatics Core at the Discovery Research Platform for Hidden Cell Biology (DRP-HCB).
Contact shaun.webb@ed.ac.uk for more information.
Modules
Introduction to R and RStudio
17th February, 10am - 4pm
Rowan teaching room, The Nucleus, Kings Buildings
Learn the basics of the R programming language and the RStudio programming environment.
- Install R, RStudio and packages
- Use the RStudio interface
- Basic R syntax
- Data types and structures
- Importing and exporting data
- Plots and statistics with base R
Data manipulation and visualisation (Tidyverse)
17th March, 10am - 4pm
JCMB 3211, Kings Buildings
The Tidyverse is a collection of R packages designed for data science and the preferred utilities for many R users. This module introduces the core Tidyverse packages for data manipulation and visualisation.
- Introduction to the Tidyverse packages (tidyr, readr, dplyr, ggplot2)
- Work with large datasets
- Import, format, filter and summarise tables of data
- Create publication ready visualisations
Genomic datasets in R (Bioconductor packages)
21st April, 10am - 4pm
Rowan teaching room, The Nucleus, Kings Buildings
Bioconductor is a collection of R packages specifically designed for analysing genomic datasets. This module introduces some of the core Bioconductor packages and data formats for working with biological data.
- Bioconductor overview
- Importing and exporting genomic data
- Operations on genomic datasets
- Plotting genomic data
Introduction to Statistics (RStatix)
12th May, 10am - 4pm
JCMB 4325, Kings Buildings
An introduction to statistical analysis in R using the RStatix package. This module covers common statistical tests and how to apply them to biological datasets.
- Data exploration and visualisation
- Common statistical tests (t-test, ANOVA, chi-squared test)
- Assumptions and diagnostics
- Post-hoc testing and multiple testing correction
Differential expression analysis (DESeq2)
9th June, 10am - 4pm
Peter Wilson G155, Kings Buildings
Perform a full differential expression analysis of RNA-seq data using the DESeq2 Bioconductor package.
- Data import and quality control
- Normalisation and transformation
- Differential expression testing
- Visualisation and interpretation of results
- Downstream analysis (pathway analysis, gene ontology)
Data publication and presentation (Quarto and Shiny)
23rd June, 10am - 4pm
Peter Wilson G155, Kings Buildings
Learn how to build reproducible analyses and present your results as web pages and interactive applications.
Analysing high-throughput sequencing data (2026)
Coming soon.
Data Drop-Ins
Monthly drop-in sessions to get help with bioinformatics analysis and training exercises.
Upcoming dates:
Friday 6th March 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Thursday 2nd April 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Friday 1st May 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Thursday 28th May 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Friday 25th June 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Bioinformatics Live
Regular live demonstration sessions covering a variety of bioinformatics tools.
See the Bioinformatics Live page for more details and upcoming sessions.