The Bioinformatics Graduate Student Council (Binf. GSC) is a student association representing all the students at the University of Guelph who have an interest in the field of bioinformatics. The Binf. GSC was formed to maintain a united bioinformatics community on campus. In doing so we aim to support the exchange of ideas, information and knowledge through different types of fun academic events such as Journal Club, and Hackathon. 

Our journal club was initiated to encourage active and cooperative learning in recent bioinformatics research in the field. The journal club takes place tri-weekly. Typically, the student will introduce an article to the group, presenting the research background, the method used, and the impact of the research. This presents an opportunity for other bioinformatics students to hear about current research that they wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to otherwise and to participate in a roundtable discussion of the article presented. Following the discussion of the paper, participants typically break into a more informal discussion and this provides a social aspect to the journal club. 

The Hackathon is a creative problem-solving event where bioinformatics students come together in a team to solve biological problems. Participants usually form a team of 3 individuals. Given a problem each team needs to create a computational solution within a pre-determined timeframe. The goal of the Hackathon event is to strengthen the bioinformatics community at UofG and provide an opportunity for participants to learn and practice with tools that are becoming standard in the field. 

In addition, we warmly welcome any graduate students (bioinformatics – related) attending the University of Guelph who is studying, working, or interested in the field of bioinformatics to join our team. Please email morton@uoguelph.ca for more detail.