Practical workshop information
This is a 2-day, hands-on Ohio State workshop organized by the CFAES Bioinformatics Core and the Department of Plant Pathology. It is intended for researchers who want to learn how to use generative and agentic AI tools for omics data analysis and beyond.
Basic information
- Dates: July 13 and 14, 2026, 9 am – 4 pm
- Location: In-person in Columbus (Kottman 244) and Wooster (WSB 300) with Zoom connection
- Instructors:
- Menuka Bhandari (bioinformatician, CFAES Bioinformatics Core)
- Jelmer Poelstra (lead, CFAES Bioinformatics Core)
- Hannah Toth (postdoc, Department of Plant Pathology)
- Jonathan Jacobs (professor, Department of Plant Pathology)
- Detailed schedule: see the website’s front page
- Attendance fee: $150 (an invoice will be sent after the workshop)
What you should bring to the workshop
- A laptop – either OSU-managed or personal
- Optional: A data set you’d like to analyze with AI tools during the workshop’s second afternoon (if you don’t have one, we can help you find and obtain a relevant publicly available data set during the workshop)
You don’t need to bring food or drinks, as these will be provided during the breaks.
What setup steps you should do before the workshop
As listed in the “Pre-workshop setup” menu in the navigation bar:
- Create an OSC account if you don’t have one
- Install VS Code on your laptop
- Optional: Create a GitHub account and request free academic benefits
What you should know before the workshop
We expect you to have basic knowledge of the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) and the Unix Shell (“terminal” / “command line”), including how to run simple shell scripts as Slurm jobs on OSC. Some knowledge of programming in R or Python is also helpful, but not required.
A 2-hour pre-workshop session will be held for those who need to get up to speed on these topics, and will make its Zoom recording available for those who cannot attend (7/9 addition: Zoom link ). That session will go over the following material:
- Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) introduction
- Unix shell basics
- Command-line software
- Shell scripts and Slurm
Finally, the following optional self-study material is available:
The CFAES Bioinformatics Core also teaches the related 3-credit AU26 course “Practical Computing Skills for Omics Data” (PLNTPTH 5006). For more information, contact Jelmer Poelstra and see last year’s course website.