Abstract

This workshop will provide a hands-on introduction to current best practices in metagenomic data analysis. Attendees will be guided from theory through to analysis, visualisation, and biological interpretation using public datasets and R Markdown notebooks. The workshop is divided into four structured, practical blocks:

• Introduction to Metagenomic Analyses: A theoretical session covering core concepts, the history of metagenomics, key methodologies, and landmark studies in the field.
• Analysing Metagenomic Data with Nextflow and nf-core: Hands-on session running two nf-core pipelines—mag and taxprofiler—for metagenome assembly and profiling.
• Data Exploration and Interpretation with Bioconductor: Practical session using pre-computed outputs in R to explore and visualise metagenomic datasets.
• Strategies for Multi-Omics Integration: Hands-on analysis of pre-computed multi-omics data in R, with an introduction to metabolomics and integrative methods. This workshop brings together instructors from South Australia and Victoria with expertise spanning microbiome analysis, metabolomics, and bioinformatics education. All materials will be developed using Melbourne Bioinformatics training templates and made publicly available post-workshop.

Organiser(s)

• Feargal Ryan, Flinders University
• Calum Walsh, University of Melbourne
• Geraldine Kong, University of Melbourne
• Vini Salazar, Melbourne Bioinformatics/University of Melbourne
• Don Teng, Metabolomics SA

Schedule

• Date: Thursday, 27 November 2025

• Time: 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM (AEDT)

Registration Details