- From 5th-8th June 2023, ELIXIR Ireland had the pleasure of welcoming ELIXIR members from all over Europe to the 9th ELIXIR All Hands Meeting (AHM) hosted at Dublin's Convention Centre. The event brought together approximately 400 in-person guests, with a further 114 remote guests joining online. The annual event offered members from each of the 23 nodes - the opportunity to discuss the successes of the previous year and plan for the future.
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- The keynote talk was given by Des Higgins, Professor Emeritus of Bioinformatics at University College Dublin, who reflected on the last 35 years of working on the revolutionary bioinformatics tool CLUSTAL for multiple sequence alignment. Prof. Higgins highlighted the challenges faced by early bioinformaticians and emphasized the benefits of using FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and Open Research principles in research. Unsurprisingly, Prof. Higgins received a roaring applause from the audience and his presentation was a highlight of the week.
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- ELIXIR Ireland node members were well-represented throughout the event. Prof. Gianpiero Cavalleri (RCSI) gave an update on "ELIXIR, Ireland, and Human Genomics" during the Human Genomics and Translational Data 2024-28 mini-symposium. Prof. Cavalleri highlighted the genomics challenges Ireland has been experiencing and the changes that are currently taking place. These changes were recently announced in the HSE National Genetics and Genomics Strategy for Ireland as well as through Ireland’s participation in GDI co-led by Prof. Cavalleri with ELIXIR Ireland Head of Node, Prof. Denis Shields. This gives hope to a brighter future for genomics healthcare in Ireland through continued coordination between Genomic Data Infrastructure (GDI) Ireland and the emerging national strategy. Prof. Aedin Culhane (UL) and Dr. Maria Doyle (UL) alongside Prof. Leo Lahti (ELIXIR-FI) led a successful workshop titled "Opportunities for Bioconductor and ELIXIR communities to co-develop training infrastructure" on 9th June. The workshop fostered an engaging discussion on connecting ELIXIR and Bioconductor to encourage collaboration in terms of training, data development, and infrastructure.
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-The meeting provided plenty of opportunities to socialize and network, with the main social event of the week taking place at the EPIC museum. Attendees had the chance to learn about the Irish diaspora and its global impact on science, politics, literature, and more. Entertainment was provided in the form of a traditional music session with Irish dancers showcasing Irish culture and it didn’t take much encouragement for all to join in, with ELIXIR Ireland members proudly stepping forward to lead everyone in their own rendition of the ”Siege of Ennis” céilí dance.
-Photo Credits: ELIXIR-EUR
-For more information about this event see the ELIXIR All Hands Meeting Report . We look forward to next year's ELIXIR All Hands Meeting in Uppsala, Sweden!
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