The ABRomics team has organized a first training workshop on the use of the platform

The ABRomics platform, dedicated to the collection and analysis of genomic data for the research and surveillance on antibiotic resistance, has reached a new stage in its development.

The latest version of the application, developed by the ABRomics teams – i.e., engineers from the Institut Français de Bioinformatique (IFB), the Institut Pasteur, and Inserm – was presented and tested during a first training workshop. This event, attended by a representative panel of a dozen users from a wide range of backgrounds (microbiologists, clinicians, bioinformaticians), was held on the 24th and 25th of October, at the Institut Pasteur.  

The first half-day was dedicated to the presentation of the current functionalities of the platform (which enables the analysis of genomic data). A test genome was used by all attendees to become familiar with loading data, launching the workflow and exploring the results.

The second half-day was dedicated to hands-on practice using each participant’s own genomic datasets (Bring Your Own Data training session). In preparation for the course, participants were asked to fill-in the metadata file describing the genomes to be analyzed with the ABRomics platform. 

Participants were on the whole very satisfied with the current version of the ABRomics platform, praising it as “a simple collaborative tool for data submission” with “an all-in-one and user-friendly interface”. In addition to remaining technical issues, some have pointed out the interest to add specific data analysis functions that could meet their needs.

This initial feedback, originating from various user profiles targeted by the platform, is vital for the improvement, update and evolution of the ABRomics platform. Using those inputs, the development team is now able to work on finalizing the public version of the ABRomics platform that will be available by the end of the year.