Oldenburg workshop - April 2026

We are planning a free, in-person workshop and early-career researcher symposium to discuss integrated microbial ‘omics and learn how to use anvi’o. The topics that we will cover during the workshop include,

  • Genomics
  • Metagenomics
  • Genome-resolved metagenomics
  • Microbial metabolism
  • Pangenomics
  • Phylogenomics

If you are interested in attending, please consider applying as soon as possible as we have limited number of seats in the workshop venue, and mark your calendars for April 13-17, 2026.

Do you know someone who may be interested in attending? Please feel free to share this page with them!

Please find photos and the outcomes of a previous iteration of the same workshop here.

An important note on funding. While the workshop itself is free (with lunch and coffee provided), we unfortunately do not have the funds to cover travel and accommodation costs for participants. That said, we are currently seeking funds to support the travel needs of at least some participants who may not be able to attend the event without it. Thus, we strongly encourage applications from institutions with limited resources around the globe. Please indicate in your application if you will need travel support. If we are able to acquire funding, we will likely be able to support a few of these applications. Feel free to write to any of us if you have any questions.

Please remember that the application deadline is on Dec 10, 2025.

The flyer for the workshop.

When and Where

From April 13, 2026 (Monday) to April 17, 2026 (Friday) at the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) in Oldenburg, Germany. Here is a map for you:

Program

In addition to intense hands-on training sessions, this event includes an ECR symposium, during which all of the participants will give lightning talks about their research. We will send the details of lightning talks to each participant upon their invitation.

Here is a very preliminary overview of the workshop content:

Monday 13: Genomics

9:00 - 9:15 Introduction to the workshop faculty & setting
9:15 - 10:15 Introduction to the anvi’o software ecosystem
10:15 - 10:30 Coffee & Tea Break
10:30 - 12:00 The anvi’o interactive interface
12:00 - 13:00 Group lunch at Bar Celona
13:00 - 14:00 Symposium talks
14:00 - 15:30 Genomics (gene calling, functional annotation, taxonomic characterization)
15:30 - 15:45 Coffee & Tea Break
15:45 - 17:30 Genomics, continued

Tuesday 14: Metabolic reconstruction; Pangenomics

9:00 - 10:15 Functions and metabolism (estimation of metabolic potential in genomes and metagenomes)
10:15 - 10:30 Coffee & Tea Break
10:30 - 12:00 Functions and metabolism, continued
12:00 - 13:00 Group lunch at Bar Celona
13:00 - 14:00 Symposium talks
14:00 - 15:30 Phylogenomics (theoretical introduction and hands-on session)
15:30 - 15:45 Coffee & Tea Break
15:45 - 17:30 Phylogenomics, continued

Wednesday 15: Pangenomics; Phylogenomics

9:00 - 10:15 Pangenomics (introduction to pangenomics, and its computational and biological underpinnings)
10:15 - 10:30 Coffee & Tea Break
10:30 - 12:00 Pangenomics (hands-on session)
12:00 - 13:00 Group lunch at Bar Celona
13:00 - 14:45 Pangenomics (hands-on session), continued
14:45 - 17:30 TBD Social activity and/or project work time

Thursday 16: Metagenomics; Genome-resolved metagenomics

9:00 - 10:15 Metagenomic read recruitment (theoretical introduction and hands-on session)
10:15 - 10:30 Coffee & Tea Break
10:30 - 12:00 Metagenomic read recruitment, continued
12:00 - 13:00 Group lunch at Bar Celona
13:00 - 14:00 Symposium talks
14:00 - 15:30 Genome-resolved metagenomics (a discussion on best practices in genome binning and refinement)
15:30 - 15:45 Coffee & Tea Break
15:45 - 17:30 Genome-resolved metagenomics, continued

Friday 17: TBD; Scalable bioinformatics

9:00 - 10:15 TBD
10:15 - 10:30 Coffee & Tea Break
10:30 - 12:00 TBD
12:00 - 13:00 Group lunch at Bar Celona
13:00 - 14:00 Symposium talks
14:00 - 15:30 How to use automated, scalable, and reproducible bioinformatics workflows
15:30 - 15:45 Coffee & Tea Break
15:45 - 17:30 Bioninformatics workflows, continued

Workshop materials

We will update this section with slides and tutorial links after the workshop.

How much does it cost?

There is no fee to attend the workshop, and we will cover your lunches and coffee/tea breaks. The rest is up to you.

If you do not have the funds to support your own travel and accommodation, please consider applying anyway. You should indicate in your application that you need travel support. If we are able to acquire funding to help us pay for participant travel, then we will happily consider your application.

Please fill out this form to apply for the workshop.

The application deadline is December 10, 2025.

List of Faculty

The following individuals from the HIFMB are responsible for organizing and teaching the workshop.

Name Role
Primary Organizer & Faculty
Primary Organizer & Faculty
Organizer & Faculty

List of Participants

We will update this section with a list of all participants after the workshop.