Bioconductor 4.0: Aspirational anatomy of a computational ecosystem for genomic data science

Author(s): Vince Carey, Marcel Ramos

Affiliation(s): Channing Division of Network Medicine, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School



Rapid evolution of methods in biotechnology and scientific computing dictates that analysts and toolmakers must be willing to unshackle themselves from past approaches, however successful those approaches may have been. This talk presents thoughts on the anatomy of Bioconductor 3.x to help conceptualize emerging changes. I will address 'Heart and soul' (data structures, programming languages and algorithms, documentation and training, all in the service of statistical learning in genomics), 'Skeleton' (annotation and experiment archives that provide concrete context for method evaluation and improvement), and 'Muscle and metabolism' (systems for the ingestion, testing, and distribution of resources for modern genomics). A major objective is to take advantage of opportunities for automation and verification in all phases of ecosystem function.