Genome Browsers and using UCSC genome Browser tools

This is a detailed hands on tutorial on the UCSC Genome Browser which will provide beginners with an introduction to the UCSC Genome browser and how to use it to ask a wide variety of biological questions such as investigating variants, gene expression and epigenetics.

A selection of tools in the browser will be demonstrated including; in silico PCR, BLAT, and sessions. Example RNAseq data (BAM files) will be provided to demonstrate how to upload your own data to make custom tracks for use within the browser. You will also learn how to navigate the Table browser to retrieve genomic positions for targets of interest and create and load a custom bed file.

What you need

• A charged lap top (a mouse is also handy for selecting)

• access to Uniwireless/Eduroam

• Web browser (Firefox recommended)

• Microsoft Excel

Expectations

All participants are expected to have a good understanding of molecular Biology.

The workshop is aimed at bench researchers with no coding/programming skills who wish to learn how to utilise online data and resources to refine their biological research questions and discovery.

Prerequisites

Get a login to UCSC Genome browser (free) so that you can save your own sessions.