Tuesday 12 May 2026 9:30am
Research Informatics Training - Online LIVE Training
About
Date: Tue 12 May 2026
Time: 09:30 - 13:30
Location: Research Informatics Training - Online LIVE Training.
Participants must have their own computers to work on and a stable internet connection for the duration of the course. Instructions on specific system requirements and downloads will be provided when a booking is secured.
Please ensure you meet the target audience criteria and prerequisites before registering for a course.
Event Overview
This course covers the potential pitfalls of short-read sequencing studies and provides options for visualisation and quality control (QC) for early detection and diagnosis of issues. You will gain an understanding of Illumina sequencing and different QC metrics that can be extracted from sequencing reads, such as base quality scores. The course also covers how QC metrics vary across different library types and thus distinguish between expected and unexpected QC results. You will be introduced to key software tools including FastQC, FastQ Screen, and MultiQC to carry out quality assessment of your sequencing data.
Note that the main focus of this course is on how to interpret quality reports produced by these tools, not on how to run them (although we do provide the basic commands you need to do it).
How to book Target audience- Anyone who is using sequencing as part of their work and/or research.
Essential:
- A working knowledge of the UNIX command line.
- If you are not able to attend this prerequisite course, please work through our Unix command line materials ahead of the course (up to section 7).
Desirable:
- Basic understanding of high-throughput sequencing technologies.
- Watch this iBiology video for an excellent overview.
Fees must be paid at registration.
Free for registered University of Cambridge students
£ 65/full day for all University of Cambridge staff, including postdocs.
£ 65/full day for all academic participants from external Institutions and charitable organizations.
£ 130/full day for all Industry participants.
For further information about the courses, please email the Research Informatics Training Team.