2010 02 22-24 GCP Molecular Breeding Platform Informatics Workshop

Objectives:

The Informatics workshop is the first opportunity for users and developers to meet face to face and review or begin to develop information strategies for each use case.

Developers will demonstrate applications currently available through the IBP for breeding information management.
Use case representatives will present their current strategy, procedures and applications for breeding logistics and data mangement.
The two groups will discuss each strategy in the context of its suitability for molecular breeding, its shareability and its conformity with platform requirements
Out of these discussions modified strategies will be developed (if required) and plans made to implement the modified strategies.

The key objective of the WS will be for use case representatives to leave with a good knowledge of what applications are available through the platform, how these could fit into their data management strategy and plan to implement this integration.

Next Steps:

To form a breeding informatics community of practice which will start with the informatics specialists of the use case projects and the developers of the platform, but will essentially be an open community providing some mutual support and guidance to the IBP in this area.
To develop Trait Dictionaries for each use case - ie complete the template from the article on Trait Dictionaries for Fieldbook Development for each trait you will be working with. This will need collaboration between biologists and the information specialist and is a pre-requisite to developing electronic fieldbooks for the projects, so please help to get this done with the informatics specialists by the end of April.
To refine the breeding workflows of each use case using a coding template from QuGene which allows the workflows to be presented graphically and to drive a simulation of the breeding program. We also want to investigate the possibility of using this modelling system to assess the costs of different breeding strategies. Scott Chapman will be working with you and your informatics specialists to refine these workflows.
Convene a second informatics workshop for use case informatics specialists to implement the basic data management infrastructure and learn how to use it to support breeding activities. They will then become the first line of support to breeders and other biologists using the systems - with back up for the Informatics COP and the GCP developers. This workshop is to be held in Zarogoza, Spain from may 31st to June 5th.
Convene an Analysis Pipeline Workshop to establish a biometrics support group for the use case projects. This will tap into statisticians in GCP Consortium Member Institutes (some may be the informatics specialists for the use cases in cases where their skills and interests cross data management and statistical analysis). This will be held in Zarogoza, Spain from June 7th to 11th. It will develop a curriculum for analysis of breeding data and a training program to cover users of the platform.