The Bioinformatics Virtual Coordination Network: An Open-Source and Interactive Learning Environment

Lockdowns and “stay-at-home” orders, starting in March 2020, shuttered bench field dependent research across the world as a consequence of global COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic continues to have an impact on progress career development, especially for graduate students early researchers, strict social distance limitations stifle ongoing impede in-person educational programs. goal Bioinformatics Virtual Coordination Network (BVCN) was reduce some these impacts by helping biologists learn new skills initiate computational projects alternative ways carry out their research. BVCN founded April at peak initial shutdowns, international group early-career microbiology researchers with expertise bioinformatics biology. instructors identified several foundational bioinformatic topics organized hands-on tutorials through cloud-based platforms that had minimal hardware requirements (in order maximize accessibility) such RStudio Cloud MyBinder. major included Unix terminal interface, R Python programming languages, amplicon analysis, metagenomics, functional protein annotation, transcriptome network science, population genetics comparative genomics. structured open-access resource central hub providing access all lesson content ( https://biovcnet.github.io/ ). As laboratories reopened participants returned previous commitments, evolved: while platform enable “a la carte” lessons learning skills, collaborative were initiated among participants, including virtual, conference June 2021. In this manuscript we discuss history, successes, challenges initiative, highlighting how learned strategies implemented may be applicable development planning future courses, workshops, training