The bioinformatics service (BSBII) supports researchers of the Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls-sur-Mer in the analysis, management and interpretation of biological data, with a particular focus on high-throughput sequencing.

It operates at the interface between biology and data science, working with all research units of the Observatory on projects ranging from evolutionary genomics to marine ecology and microbiology.

You can get in touch at any stage of your project — from initial idea to data analysis and interpretation.

Early discussions often help save time, secure methodological choices and optimize data production.

Missions

The service provides methodological and technical support throughout the lifecycle of research projects:

• analysis of genomic and transcriptomic data (NGS),
• development, adaptation and maintenance of analysis pipelines,
• design of new bioinformatics workflows tailored to specific scientific questions,
• guidance on experimental design and data production strategies,
• data management, storage and reproducibility,
• training and support for researchers, engineers and students.

Beyond data processing, the service contributes to defining appropriate analytical approaches, anticipating technical constraints and facilitating the use of shared computational resources.

Who is it for?

The service is open to all researchers, engineers, PhD students and trainees of the Observatory whether for:

• a specific analysis need,
• advice at the early stage of a project,
• support with data management,
• development of new bioinformatics approaches,
• training or skill development.

Bioinformatics training and support

BSBII offers training sessions designed for researchers, engineers and graduate students who wish to develop practical skills for handling biological data and computational environments.

These trainings focus on real research use cases and aim to make participants operational quickly, whether they are starting in bioinformatics or looking to strengthen specific skills.

Main training topics:

• Linux for biologists (command line, file systems, remote environments),
• Introduction to Python for data analysis,
• Use of shared computing infrastructures (HPC, clusters, job schedulers),
• Good practices for data organisation, reproducibility and documentation,
• Introduction to NGS data analysis workflows.

Sessions combine short theoretical inputs with hands-on exercises based on biological datasets. They can be delivered as scheduled group sessions, within institutional training programmes, or tailored to the needs of a research team.

If you are interested in a training session for your team or unit, feel free to contact the service.