Seven Domain Topics in Bioinformatics Education - Refining the ISCB Core Competencies to Access Diversity in Training
Confirmed Presenter: Nilson Coimbra, Laboratorio de Bacteriologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Brazil
Room: 521
Format: In Person
Authors List: Show
- Nilson Coimbra, Laboratorio de Bacteriologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Brazil
- Bernardo Velozo, Programa de Pós Graduação em Bioquímica, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brazil
- Clara Carvalho, Programa Interunidades de Pós-graduação em Bioinformática, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Brazil
- Lucas Aleixo Leal Pedroza, Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Aplicada à Saúde, Instituto Keizo Asami, UFPE, Recife, Brazil, Brazil
- Emerson Danzer, Programa Interunidades de Pós-graduação em Bioinformática, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Brazil
- Sandy Ingrid Aguiar Alves, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia de Agentes Infecciosos e Parasitários, UFPA, Belém, Pará, Brazil, Brazil
- Rayssa Feitosa, The Hospital for Sick Children, Genetics and Genome Biology Department, Toronto, Canada, Canada
- Maira Neves, Programa Interunidades de Pós-graduação em Bioinformática, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Brazil
- Bibiana Fam, Hospital de Clínicas, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Brazil
Presentation Overview: Show
The ISCB Regional Student Group of Brazil (RSG-Brazil) is at the forefront of promoting bioinformatics and computational biology education in Brazil. In 2019, RSG-Brazil launched its Educational Committee (EduComm) with a dual mission: to develop educational materials in Portuguese and to assess the efficacy of bioinformatics training in the country. Leveraging the ISCB core competency framework 3.0, the EduComm devised a novel training model to evaluate confidence in various technical aspects of bioinformatics. This model encompasses seven domain topics crucial for bioinformatics education: Biology, Statistics, Computer Science, Ethics, Bioinformatics Applications, Communication, and Professional Development. To gauge the educational needs of the Brazilian bioinformatics community, a survey was conducted in November 2023, collected 375 responses from across 21 states, predominantly from academia. Notably, the majority of respondents identified themselves as Bioinformatics Users, with a significant representation from Undergraduate and Graduate students. The survey revealed regional and profile-specific interests in Bioinformatics Topics, providing valuable insights for curriculum development. Through the efforts of EduComm, RSG-Brazil aims to tailor educational courses to meet the diverse needs of Brazil's computational biology student community. This work presents the findings from the survey conducted by RSG-Brazil's EduComm and highlights the importance of localized educational initiatives in advancing bioinformatics education on a global scale.