From 17 to 21 November 2025, the first session of the Regional Bioconductor Training was held at the Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), under the leadership of the Genetics, Biotechnology and Seed Sciences Unit (GBioS), Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and the Unité de Recherche en Microbiologie Appliquée et Pharmacologie des substances naturelles (URMAPha), Polytechnical School of Abomey-Calavi, in collaboration with Bioconductor, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the University of Limerick.
Bioconductor is an open-source software project dedicated to bioinformatics and the analysis of genomic and biological data, providing a wide range of tools and packages within the R programming environment. This intensive program aimed to equip researchers, post-docs, doctoral and master’s students with practical skills in the R programming language and the use of Bioconductor tools for genomic data analysis.
What participants learned
During the week-long workshop, participants followed a comprehensive program including:
- Data organization using spreadsheets
- Introduction to R and RStudio
- Importing and preparing data
- Data manipulation and analysis using packages such as dplyr
- Data visualization and exploratory analysis
- Specifically: workflows for genomic data analysis, including bulk RNA-seq: from raw count tables to annotation, quality control, normalization, differential expression, and result visualization using Bioconductor data structures.
This hands-on and reproducible training model reflects Bioconductor’s global education and training mission.
A diverse and international cohort
The first cohort comprised 25 participants master’s, PhD, post-doctoral researchers and data analysts _from research institutions and universities in Benin, Nigeria, Senegal.
The training was enriched by instructors from the University of Limerick and from other institutions, bringing a wide range of scientific expertise and perspectives.
Expected Impact and Future Perspectives
Participants now have enhanced capacity to analyze complex genomic datasets using reproducible, open-source tools. This will improve the quality, reliability, and reproducibility of their research outputs. Additionally, Bioconductor’s community-oriented model encourages alumni to become future trainers _ promising the establishment of a sustainable, continent-wide network of genomic data analysts and bioinformatics educators.
Given Bioconductor’s commitment to open-source, reproducible research and community building, this first Regional Training in West Africa marks a significant step toward strengthening research infrastructure and bioinformatics capacity across the continent.
We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the founders and visionaries behind the Bioconductor project, whose commitment to open science and capacity building made this training possible. This session was delivered as part of Bioconductor’s expanded global training program, generously supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) through an EOSS grant.