Biodiversity Bioinformatics: from Large-Scale Phylogenomics to Gene Families and Functions (SIB)

25-27 August 2025

Pr Marc Robinson-Rechavi, UNIL

Pr Robert Waterhouse, SIB

Dre Natacha Glover, UNIL/SIB

Pr Marc Robinson-Rechavi, UNIL

Pr Robert Waterhouse, SIB

Pr Christophe Dessimoz, UNIL/SIB

The aims of this biodiversity bioinformatics course are to

(i) explore key evolutionary concepts,

(ii) examine different methodological approaches, and

(iii) gain hands-on experience in comparative genomic analyses, with an emphasis on characterising protein-coding gene evolution and function across multiple animal genomes, both from model and non-model species.

This course will focus on concepts and methods for the orthology and paralogy of protein-coding genes, complemented by practical examples of how comparative genomics approaches can be applied to investigate biological and/or evolutionary questions. It will be structured with lectures in the mornings followed by hands-on sessions in the afternoons. This course is aimed at PhD students, postdoctoral and other researchers in the life sciences who are planning how to proceed with comparative genomics analyses to investigate biological or evolutionary questions of importance to their study system, particularly to leverage comparative genomics tools and resources to characterise the gene repertoires of their non-model species.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, participants should be able to:

- Interpret phylogenetic trees and sequence alignments

- Infer orthologs and paralogs using graph- and tree-based methods

- Design and implement comparative analyses to interrogate genomics data, e.g. phylogenomics or gene family dynamics

This course will take place only in person, at the University of Lausanne, in the Campus Sorge.

The course will start at 9:00 and end around 17:00.

Precise information will be provided to the participants in due time.

University of Lausanne, Room TBA

This course is organized in collaboration with the CUSO doctoral program in Ecology & Evolution.

Reimbursements for CUSO Students:

Train ticket, 2°class, half-fare from your institution to the place of the activity.

Reimbursement of your travel tickets can be asked online through your MyCUSO.

CUSO StarOmics Students: for any question concerning reimbursement please contact the CUSO StarOmics coordinator Corinne Dentan

Other CUSO Students: please contact the coordinator of your Program

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Deadline for registration: 1st of July 

20 places available for CUSO students

For cancellations after the deadline of cancellation (31 July) or no show: 50 CHF administrative fees

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