The 2017 Cytomining Hackathon

What’s it about? :   Following the success of last years Cytomining Hackathon, where data scientists from 20 of the worlds top high-content screening laboratories came together to set a path for the field, the hackathon is back. Running over 3 days and 3 nights, we’ll begin with a day of talks, networking, and discussion before getting down to the hacking itself. For the Hackathon we’ll prepare a previously unseen imaging dataset. Working in groups, your task will be to develop novel software and analysis techniques to extract information from the dataset. Following this, your group will pitch the project to a panel of judges where prizes will be awarded, and hopefully new collaborations and ideas formed.

Why Attend? :   The ability to automatically mine vast amounts of information from ever larger microscopy imaging datasets, is driving change in the way we discover and characterise the behaviour of new drugs, genes, and biological mechanisms. At the heart of automatic ‘morphological profiling’ platforms lies software and workflows which can identify, segment and extract features from individual cells subjected to experimental perturbation. As the community of programmers and data analysts at the front line of analysing high-throughput microscopy data, we are uniquely placed to push the field forward, and develop novel technologies that will revolutionise the future of high throughput screening, systems biology and drug discovery. The Cytomining Hackathon represents the first event where our community can come together conceive and concoct new ideas and directions, as well as laying down standard practices that will ensure reproducibility and forward momentum in years to come. With last years Hackathon attracting wide publicity, notably a mention in Science, as well as spawning what will be the most comprehensive review of practices in the field to date, you should definitely fear missing the 2017 Cytomining Hackathon!