This course aims to build a foundation for understanding the background and methods involved in microbiome analysis projects.

The course kicks off with an introductory practice test intended to gauge the student's background knowledge and set a baseline to estimate progress following course completion. It proceeds to introduce students to the value and relevance of this field of research. It will acquaint students with the basic underlying concepts of related disciplines such as molecular biology and sequencing.

Students will also be introduced to the theory of sequencing techniques such as barcoding, multiplexing and demultiplexing. Various analyses methods and metrics commonly encountered in microbiome analysis will be discussed, such as taxonomic abundance and assignment, and diversity analysis. The theory segment wraps up with some helpful tips and suggestions on designing one’s own microbiome experiment.

After reviewing the theory, students will then have the opportunity to use a free online tool, EasyMap, to conduct their own microbiome analysis using demo data. The hands-on segment aims to solidify the concepts learnt over the theory lectures and also point students to an easy to use online resource to experiment and learn with.

Finally, the course concludes with a comprehensive test that will evaluate the knowledge acquired by the students over the course.