Events

Machine Learning in Biology — Summer School 2026

University of Bern  ·  15–18 June 2026

This four-day summer school equips life scientists with the practical skills to apply machine learning to their own data. Mornings cover the methodological foundations — supervised and unsupervised learning, model evaluation, and the pitfalls specific to biological datasets. Afternoons are spent in hands-on coding sessions working with realistic biological problems.

The programme includes a one-day mini-symposium on Wednesday in which researchers present current applications of machine learning in biological and biomedical research, providing context for how the methods covered translate into ongoing science.

Who should attend

PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and scientific staff in the life sciences who want to move beyond using machine learning as a black box. Prior experience with R is helpful but not required; participants without programming background should expect to invest additional effort during the practical sessions.

What you will gain

• A working vocabulary — the ability to read ML methods sections critically and discuss them with collaborators.
• Hands-on competence — you will train, validate, and interpret models on biological data during the course.
• Judgement — recognising when ML is the right tool, which method fits the question, and how to avoid the most common failure modes (data leakage, overfitting, batch effects).
• A network — four days of close interaction with instructors, invited speakers, and peers from across Swiss life-science institutions.

Key information

Dates: 15–18 June 2026

Venue: University of Bern

Capacity: 30 participants (first-come, first-served)

Registration deadline: 8 June 2026

Fee: CHF 50 for CUSO members · CHF 190 for non-CUSO participants

Included: course materials, lunches, coffee breaks, and the social event.

Registration

Register via the online form: Summer School 2026 — registration form

More information to come: Machine Learning in Biology — Summer School 2026 · University of Bern

OMICS+ Day 2026

The Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit (IBU) is pleased to announce the OMICS+ Day 2026, taking place on Friday, 19 June 2026, at the University of Bern (Unitobler, Room F021).

This year's edition broadens the traditional BEFRI OMICS Day format and puts the spotlight on Open Research Data (ORD) and FAIR principles in the life sciences. The event is structured in two parts:

Part I — Morning Summit (09:00–12:15) The morning brings together Postdocs, PIs, and Core Facility staff for external keynotes on ORD and FAIR — covering the institutional, national, and applied perspectives — followed by short presentations from University of Bern Core Facilities highlighting their latest services and developments.

Part II — Career + Poster Session (13:30–16:30) The afternoon is designed for Master students and research labs. It features alumni talks from former graduates sharing their career paths, a Master thesis showcase with short presentations by current 2nd-year students, and a poster session accompanied by a closing Apéro.

Date: Friday, 19 June 2026 Time: 09:00–16:30 Venue: Room F021, Unitobler, Lerchenweg 36, 3012 Bern

Registration: Open for both event participation and poster submissions via a single form: Registration 

Full programme: https://omicsday2026.netlify.app/

The OMICS+ Day is hosted by the IBU in cooperation with the University of Fribourg and supported by CUSO.
 

Margaret Dayhoff Centenary Celebration – Bioinformatics Day 2025
Honoring the Pioneer of Bioinformatics

On March 11, 2025, the Interfaculty Bioinformatics Unit at the University of Bern hosted a special Bioinformatics Day in honor of Margaret Dayhoff (1925–1983), whose groundbreaking work laid the foundation for the field of bioinformatics.

The day opened with a keynote lecture by Prof. Dr. Artemis Hatzigeorgiou (University of Thessaly, Greece), who presented on “Functional Analysis of miRNA: An Experimental-Computational Partnership through the Years.” Her talk traced the evolution of miRNA target prediction from early computational models to modern deep learning approaches, highlighting the contributions of the DIANA lab to methods such as DIANA-microT and microT-CNN.

Another highlight was the awarding of the Margaret Dayhoff Centenary Grant. The 2025 recipient, Dr. Evangelia Lekka (Inselspital Bern), introduced her project on Cas9-mediated targeted nanopore sequencing to decipher the genetic architecture of the pharmacogene CES1. Her research, supported by IBU, aims to improve the resolution of pharmacogenomic data by leveraging long-read sequencing and bioinformatic pipelines.

The afternoon featured a keynote by Prof. Dr. Raphaëlle Luisier (Idiap, Martigny) and a spotlight session showcasing cutting-edge bioinformatics applications:

• Prof. Dr. Marianna Rapsomaniki (University of Lausanne) presented on “From Protein Sequences to Patient Outcomes”, focusing on the use of AI in spatial omics and oncology.

• Dr. Natasha Glover (SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics) explored comparative genomics across the tree of life.

• Prof. Dr. Emma Hodcroft (Swiss TPH) gave an engaging talk on Data Visualization and Sharing to Stay Ahead of Changing Viruses, emphasizing tools like Nextstrain and the new Pathoplexus platform.

The program also included a historical feature by Prof. Dr. Bruno J. Strasser (University of Geneva) and parallel sessions on Swiss bioinformatics, career development, and bioinformatics support services at the University of Bern.

We thank all contributors, speakers, and attendees for making this event a fitting tribute to Margaret Dayhoff’s legacy and an inspiring showcase of bioinformatics today.