With advancing technologies and ever-increasing availability of data, current researchers and researchers-in-training, need computational biology skills early in their careers. The data analysis modules of MICROnet introduce data science skills to researchers and educators using KBase, a free, online, open-access data analysis platform that requires no coding experience or computational resources.
The second in a 2-part series will cover analysis of microbial community metagenomes—from raw sequence data to metagenome-assembled genomes through data publication—in a modularized format that uses KBase’s reproducible notebook workflows. The first 4-part series, From Bench to Publication: Identification and Analysis of Microbial Isolate Genomes, will be held in Spring 2025.
MICROnet also offers community-developed teaching resources that enable student exploration of microbiome research questions. Instructors create teaching workflows based on ‘omics data concepts (e.g., genomics, metagenomics, metabolic modeling and transcriptomics) often taught in courses from general biology to microbiology to bioinformatics. Leveraging KBase, these modularized workflows can be quickly customized to any course, and can result in student-authored data publications in 91Â鶹ÌìÃÀ’s . &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Participants in this professional development series will: 
- Learn new skills with a supportive community of 91Â鶹ÌìÃÀ members.
- Use the free, online, open-access KBase platform for data analysis and publication.
- Learn how to apply and adapt whole metagenome analysis workflows for their own research and/or teaching courses. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
- Follow and apply FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) data principles in research, including best practices for sample metadata.
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 12-1:30 p.m. ET | Introduction to Microbial Community Metagenome Analysis and KBase
Session 1 provides an overview of the microbial genome analysis workflow and introduces the free and open-access KBase platform to participants. After an orientation to the platform’s general layout, participants will be introduced to the example dataset and analysis tools used during the course.
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 12-1:30 p.m. ET | Metagenome Assembly and Binning
Session 2 introduces quality control (trimming and filtering) of raw sequence data, gets a taxonomic snapshot and prepares the data for metagenome assembly of contiguous sequences. Then, the session will cover different types of assembly tools and how to compare metagenome assembly quality in KBase, before going into how to organize or “bin” assembled reads data.
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 12-1:30 p.m. ET | Annotation and Functional Analysis of MAGs
Session 3 will assess the quality of the binned assemblies and extract the metagenome-assembled genomes or MAGs to annotate genes. These annotated MAGs will go through taxonomic identification, generate phylogenetic trees and explore functional analysis, including introducing tools in KBase to create functional profiles and build metabolic models.
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 12-1:30 p.m. ET | Microbiology Resource Announcement Templates for Isolates
Session 4 puts the full workflow together and maps the process to the MRA templates available in KBase: quality control, assembly, binning, annotation, taxonomic identification and predictive function, as requirements for an MRA data publication. The series will wrap up with an overview of FAIR data principles, including standards for environmental metadata and best practices for data management and publication using KBase.
Course Learning Goals 
Having completed all sessions, participants will be able to:
- Analyze their own data or public data and build their custom analysis workflows in KBase for microbial isolate genomes. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
- Use the KBase Narrative to prepare a microbial isolate genome for a data publication in 91Â鶹ÌìÃÀ’s Microbiology Resource Announcements. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Format
- Attendance at the live events is required. The facilitators will be working in real-time during the webinar sessions. The first hour of each webinar will be recorded in case of conflicts.
- During the live sessions, there will be an interactive tutorial for the first hour, followed by 30 minutes for break-out groups for further hands-on practice, application and trouble shooting. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
- Participants will receive a link to the recording after the live event. The recording will be available until Jan. 31, 2026.
Eligibility
- This series is for researchers and educators at any career stage.
- While coding skills and advanced knowledge of bioinformatics are not required, it is recommended that participants have a general understanding of biological concepts and microbiology. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
- For undergraduate educators based in the U.S., there are additional opportunities to support instructor training and undergraduate research within MICROnet. We will discuss these opportunities during the sessions!
Registration Details
- 91Â鶹ÌìÃÀ members (all categories except supporting members or student member): $250 for the 4-part series.
- 91Â鶹ÌìÃÀ student members: $150 for the 4-part series.
- Non-members (non-members or 91Â鶹ÌìÃÀ supporting members): $350 for the 4-part series.
- No refunds and no discounts will be given.
- All registrants will receive a link to the recording after the live event and will have access until Jan. 31, 2026.
