Mothur Workshop (Detroit)

Just got this from the Mothur email list:

We continue to plug away at some really nice features to incorporate into mothur for your analytical pleasure. I wanted to let you know that the next mothur workshop will run from December 16 to 18 near the Detroit airport. The workshop is being filled on a first come, first served basis. The workshop is geared towards people with diverse backgrounds so you shouldn’t feel like this isn’t for you if you are a beginner. I assume no previous computer programming experience. The workshop is an even blend of lecture/discussion and hands on use of mothur with real sequence data. Here is a rough outline of what the workshop schedule will look like (although it is subject to some minor changes)…

Day 1:
— Overview of methods used in microbial ecology
— DNA sequencing technologies (Sanger, 454, Illumina, IonTorrent, PacBio)
— Introduction to mothur, command line interface, and GUI
— Improving sequence quality
— Alignment

Day 2:
— Chimera detection
— Distance calaculations
— OTU identification
— Sequence/OTU classification

Day 3:
— Intro to quantitative ecology for microbial ecologists
— Methods of measuring alpha and beta diversity
— Population level analyses

Basics: As indicated above, each day there will be a lecture and discussion interspersed with hands-on activities and it will run from 9 to 5. If you would like to meet with me one-on-one to discuss your project, I can do that in the evening and during breaks.

To bring: It is important that you bring a laptop to the workshop. While it would be helpful if you came with mothur pre-installed, it is not that important since we can do this at the workshop. People often find it helpful to bring along their own data to play with after they have mastered the examples I provide. People also find it helpful to bring a notebook for taking notes during the lecture components. Of course, a willingness to learn, questions, and a good sense of humor are essential!

Hotel: The workshop will be held at the LaQuinta Hotel (30847 Flynn Dr; Romulus, MI), which has a free shuttle to and from the Detroit Airport (DTW; this is an International hub for Delta). We have a block of rooms reserved for you at $89 per night plus tax that you will need to cover on your own. You can make a reservation by calling 734-721-1100 and telling them that you would like to fill a reservation within the “Pat Schloss group”. Included in that rate is a continental breakfast and included in the cost of the course is a lunch for each day. There are a number of restaurants in the area where you can have dinner.

If you would like further information about costs and how to register, feel free to email me.

Thanks!
Pat Schloss