The GIF Autumn School on Computational Life Sciences was held at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Bonn, bringing together 19 graduate students and 10 principal investigators from Germany and Israel for an intensive 4-day programme. The school provided a platform for advanced learning, cross-border collaboration, and the exchange of innovative research approaches in computational biology and single-cell technologies.
The program opened with welcoming remarks and keynote lectures. Topics included the development and application of single-cell RNA sequencing technologies (Amit Zeisel), experimental design in biological research (Marc Beyer), and downstream analyses such as data visualization (Tal Shay), exploratory analysis (Thomas Ulas), network analysis (Esti Yeger-Lotem), and trajectory modeling (Jan Hasenauer). Each theoretical session was followed by a hands-on component, allowing participants to directly apply the concepts and tools introduced.
Practical sessions followed the entire single-cell workflow – from cell thawing and multiplexing to sequencing, data quality control, and interpretation. Additional lectures covered advanced topics such as cell atlas construction, comparative analysis across species (Ronen Segev), computational challenges in single-cell analysis (Matthias Becker), and integrating biological variables such as sex (Tal Pecht). Sabine Krabbe presented cutting-edge techniques combining live imaging of brain cells with transcriptomic analysis, while Caterina Carraro introduced multi-modal profiling and integration of chromatin, RNA, and protein data.
The school concluded with a session where each participant reflected on a research question they had submitted at the start of the event, followed by a group discussion summarizing the insights gained. The final lecture, delivered by Joachim Schultze, introduced the concept of swarm learning – an emerging paradigm that enables collaborative analysis across institutions without sharing sensitive data, with potential applications in early epidemic detection.
Beyond the scientific program, the school emphasized community-building through informal discussions, social activities, and local seminars given by visiting Israeli PIs. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with special appreciation for the interactive format, the welcoming atmosphere, and the opportunity to engage in meaningful cross-disciplinary exchange.
Source: GIF