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Vancouver Bioinformatics User Group

VanBUG (Vancouver Bioinformatics Users Group) is an association of researchers, other professionals and students in the B.C. Lower Mainland who have an interest in the field of bioinformatics, computational biology, and data sciences. VanBUG meets every month from September through April. Research presentations by bioinformatics leaders, students and industry representatives are followed by networking over pizza and refreshments

Upcoming meetings will be held monthly on Thursdays from 11:00am to 1:30pm and are free and open to all. The majority of VanBUG events will now be held simultaneously at UBC's Michael Smith Laboratories and SFU's Big Data Hub. The speaker will be present in-person at one location while the other location receives live video-streaming and Q&A. Both locations will have a post lecture social with free food and drink. Please refer to the Schedule page or subscribe to our Calendar for specific details regarding speaker location and room information.

As a service to the community, local VanBUG and other bioinformatics events are posted to the Calendar. Click Subscribe to subscribe to this calendar, so that all current and future events appear on your personal calendar.

Visit our sister groups for bioinformatics events in Montreal (MonBUG) and Toronto (TorBUG)!

VanBUG Monthly Event

Event Details

Date/Time:

Friday, October 18th, 2024 4:00pm - 8:00pm PT

Location:

Study Lounge #224, Library at Langara College (170 West 49th Avenue, Vancouver)

Come Join us for a special event to kick off the 2024 academic year with VanBUG. VanBUG is hosting a Bioinformatics Career Night on Friday, October 18, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This event will feature three career speakers from different stages of their careers, offering valuable insights into various career paths in bioinformatics. Additionally, we are honored to have Dr. Kayla King (Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair in the Departments of Zoology and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of British Columbia, as well as Professorial Fellow in Biology, University of Oxford) as our keynote speaker.

This seminar will be live-streamed via Zoom.

There will be a social over complimentary food and refreshments after the talks.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Kayla King

Talk Title: Rapid evolution of pathogen virulence and resistance in ‘protected’ hosts.

Affiliation:

  • Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair in the Departments of Zoology and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of British Columbia
  • Professorial Fellow in Biology, University of Oxford

Bio

Kayla King is a Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair in the Departments of Zoology and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of British Columbia, as well as Professorial Fellow in Biology, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the evolution, ecology, and genomics of host-microbial pathogen interactions using a combination of experimental evolution, computational approaches, and collections from the wild. Dr. King received a BSc (2004) from UBC, followed by a MSc (2006) at Concordia University in Montreal, a PhD (2011) at Indiana University, followed by a prestigious Royal Society Newton Post-doctoral Fellowship at the University of Liverpool. She started as an Associate Professor (2013) before being promoted to Full Professor (2019) at Oxford. Dr. King was hired at UBC in 2023. Her honours include the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Mid-Career Excellence Award (2023), Canadian Society of Zoologists R.A. Wardle Medal (2023), the Zoological Society of London Scientific Medal (2022), the Linnean Society Bicentenary Medal (2020), and the American Society of Naturalists Early Career Investigator Prize (2013) among others. She is also an elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London (2023) and Zoological Society of London (2022).

Abstract

Many animal species harbour microbes in their microbiota that suppress pathogen infection. These ‘protective microbes’ can be a significant component of host defence. Through both experimental evolution of multiple microbial systems (e.g., worms, bacteria, viruses) and bioinformatics to track genomic changes, my group has demonstrated that host-associated microbes can drive major changes in pathogen virulence and resistance. Our results indicate that microbes in hosts are important in shaping infection outcomes, now and across evolutionary time.

Career Speakers

  • Anmol Singh, Bioinformatics graduate
  • Dr. Venus Lau, Custom Solutions Lead, Magna Labs
  • Dr. Shaun Jackman, Computational Biologist, 10X Genomics