February 2022
The Texas A&M Superfund Research Center’s “Big Data in Environmental Science and Toxicology” virtual learning series was held from July to December and consisted of six, two-hour interactive seminars led by data science experts.
The free training series offered 280 unique attendees the opportunity to learn from experts about available data, mechanisms for sharing scientific information, the “how and why” of data science, handling large datasets, and placing research data into “real-life” contexts.
Overall, this series offered a broad range of participants a unique opportunity for continuing education in a very important contemporary topic.
“Data Science is a somewhat mysterious topic to most biomedical scientists and professionals,” said Dr. Ivan Rusyn, director of the Texas A&M Superfund Research Center and professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS). “Our goal was to provide practical skills and tools to those who are not trained in statistics and bioinformatics; according to the feedback we received on each session and this series overall, this goal has been met and we plan to hold these events annually.”