Knowledge sharing enABLeS computational research across the life sciences
ABLeS (Australian BioCommons Leadership Share) supports groups with their shared data-driven bioinformatics needs, who bring with them a wide range of computational research programs. The research groups benefiting from the program wouldn’t normally have an avenue to share insights and learn from each other’s experiences.
The ABLeS program now includes more than 250 registered participants, representing more than 50 Australian research institutions and a wonderfully diverse array of research projects. The ABLeS User Group Meeting offers opportunities to come together to share knowledge, offer tips, ask questions or give feedback.
Held twice a year, the ABLeS User Group meeting includes presentations from researchers about how they are making use of their allocated computational resources, alongside updates on pertinent developments at both of the Australian peak computational facilities, Pawsey and NCI. This online forum is also a chance to ask questions or provide feedback on how ABLeS can be improved to help different researcher needs.
A poll at the latest User Group meeting suggested an octopus mascot for ABLeS!
At the last meeting, users heard from three different researchers whose projects receive ABLeS resources:
Computational Structural Biology Node, Dr Keiran Rowell (UNSW)
The Effect of a Mediterranean Diet on Blood DNA Methylation Profiles in Pregnant Women, Grace Tavelli (The Kids)
Rare Disease Genetics and Functional Genomics, Assoc Prof Gina Ravenscroft (Perkins Institute)
Given that it was the inaugural ABLeS User Group Meeting, the event opened with a fun activity to find a mascot for the ABLeS service. The most popular option amongst the 39 people attending was a friendly octopus. The ABLeS team is still trying to decipher any hidden message in that choice! Other interesting results from the poll were that the majority of participants joined from NSW and WA, and two thirds of those users were working on non-human species.
The next ABLeS User Group Meeting will take place online on 2 June 2025. Registered users of ABLeS should keep an eye on their inbox for their invitation to attend.
If you aren’t yet registered for ABLeS, you can find out more in this 10 min video explainer or jump straight into the ABLeS documentation.
ABLeS (Australian BioCommons Leadership Share) was established in 2021 to support data-driven bioinformatics. Australian BioCommons partners with Bioplatforms Australia, National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), and Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre (Pawsey).