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Community Advisory Board

The Community Advisory Board purpose is to support the Bioconductor mission by:

  • Empowering user and developer communities by coordinating training and outreach activities.
  • Enabling productive and respectful participation by Bioconductor users and developers at all levels of experience.

The Community Advisory Board governance document (PDF) outlines membership, procedures, committees and working groups of the board. Governance was formalized in April, 2020.

Current members

Enis Afgan Enis Afgan, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Umar Ahmad Umar Ahmad, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Nigeria and Africa CDC
Zahraa W. Alsafwani Zahraa W. Alsafwani, University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA
Aedin Culhane Aedin Culhane, University of Limerick, Ireland
Jasmine Daly Jasmine Daly, Daly Analytics, USA.
Xueyi Dong Xueyi Dong, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australia
Maria Doyle Maria Doyle, University of Limerick, Ireland, Bioconductor Community Manager
Lori (Shepherd) Kern Lori (Shepherd) Kern, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, USA
Leo Lahti Leo Lahti, University of Turku, Finland
Mengbo Li Mengbo Li, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), Australia
Kozo Nishida Kozo Nishida, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan
Oluwatobilola Ogunbowale Oluwatobilola Ogunbowale, Jacobs School of Medicine University at Buffalo, USA.
Nicole Ortogero Nicole Ortogero, NanoString Technologies, USA
Stevie Pederson Stevie Pederson, Telethon Kids Institute, Australia
Johannes Rainer Johannes Rainer, Eurac Research, Italy, secretary
Janani Ravi Janani Ravi, University of Colorado Anschutz, USA, co-chair
Lluís Revilla Sancho Lluís Revilla Sancho, .
Kevin Rue-Albrecht Kevin Rue-Albrecht, University of Oxford, UK, co-chair
Luyi Tian Luyi Tian, Guangzhou Laboratory, China.
Hedia Tnani Hedia Tnani , CNAG, Spain
Jiefei Wang Jiefei Wang,University of Texas Medical Branch, USA

FAQ

The following Q&As are from Meet the Community Advisory Board CAB in BioC2021. If you have any other questions, please click this link to ask a question. (You need to be signed in to GitHub to open the new question.) In addition to asking new questions, you can also continue the discussion following Q&As below at github.com/BioconductorBoards/CABWorkingGroups/discussions/categories/q-a.

How do I join the CAB?

There is an annual expression of interest process inviting new members to apply to join the CAB. This is announced on the Bioconductor support site and relevant Bioconductor community slack channel. Current CAB members vote on the applications received to select new members. The board is keen to have representatives from diverse backgrounds (i.e. different geographical and cultural backgrounds, genders, statistical analysis interests, career stages and experience levels). Also: Community members interested but not elected to CAB, or that would like more specialized work would be encouraged to volunteer to be part of a working group organized by the CAB/TAB – there is a soon to be released page where we will list the active and inactive (needing someone to lead) working groups and for community members to suggest working groups.

Nominations for 2024 CAB board members are occurring now. Please fill out the following google form.

We are happy to receive suggestions and feedback and recommend reaching us via email (cab@bioconductor.org) or by messaging us on the #community-advisory-board channel of the Bioconductor community slack (slack.bioconductor.org). (See also: A for the previous Q.)

Are there any big new CAB projects or plans on the horizon?

We plan to build on our work redeveloping the Bioconductor website to make it easier to navigate and use on different devices and also develop new training resources aligned with the Carpentries project (chanzuckerberg.com/eoss/proposals/bioconductor-high-quality-training-and-support-for-a-worldwide-community), with our new CZI EOSS6 grants for delivering training and supporting developers, see the blog post here. Hosting a BioC Africa meeting in the future to compliment the annual meetings that are run in other parts of the world is another ambition.

What projects are you working on currently

We will be working on delivering training and supporting developers through the CZI EOSS6 grants in the blog post here. CAB members are also leading and participating in working groups. Everyone is welcome to join a working group and contribute to our community.

What did you consider the biggest challenges when joining the CAB as a new member?

Securing funding to increase the effort that can be put in to different activities.

Can we contribute to CAB activities or organize other ones even if we’re not on the CAB?

Yes, anyone is free to contribute to the organisation of community events or other CAB initiatives. For instance, there is an annual call for people to join the BioC conference organising committee, which is a great way to get involved and meet new people.

Do you have current or future plans to collaborate with other R community groups? e.g. R-ladies?

Yes. A number of CAB members are already connected to various R-Ladies groups, having been involved in their establishment or as active participants in different parts of the world (including the USA and Australia).

How much time commitment is involved in being a member of the CAB?

It depends how involved you are in different activities, and may fluctuate throughout the year, but on average, it can take up around 1 day per month. There is a recurring monthly board meeting that runs for 1 hour that all members attend.

How experienced does someone need to be to join Bioconductor’s CAB?

The goal is for the board to broadly reflect the diversity of users and developers in the Bioconductor community, so we would encourage people of all career stages and experience levels to consider applying if you are interested in contributing to our community development efforts.

Would there be an opportunity to visit one of the CAB meetings before being part of it?

Guests are most welcome to attend a meeting to see what it is about - just get in touch and we can arrange attendance. To see what has been discussed at past meetings, you can find the Meeting minutes.

Meeting minutes

The Community Advisory Board meets monthly. Minutes of the last meeting are made available after being approved by the board at the following meeting. The first meeting for which public minutes were maintained was on 9 April, 2020.

Event Calendar

The Bioconductor Event Calendar is a public facing google calendar for Bioconductor and Bioconductor related events. The events posted on this calendar are managed by members of the Community Advisory Board. If you would like an event added to the calendar please submit this GitHub issue form (You have to be signed in to GitHub to see the form link.) Any additional questions or if you do not have a github account please email events at bioconductor.org

Contact

If you would like to contact the Community Advisory Board please email: cab at bioconductor.org

CAB sticker

There is also a community-advisory-board channel on the Bioconductor community slack

Past Members

We are grateful to past CAB members;

  • Jordana Muwanguzi (2023 - 2024)
  • Mike Smith (2021 - 2024)
  • Estefania Mancini (2021 - 2024)
  • Daniela Cassol (2021 - 2024)
  • Matt Ritchie (04/2020- 04/2023, co-chair 2020/2021)
  • Susan Holmes (04/2020- 04/2023, co-chair 2022)
  • Leonardo Collado-Torres (04/2020- 04/2023)
  • Benilton Carvalho (04/2020- 04/2023)
  • Yagoub A. I. Adam (04/2020- 04/2023)
  • Saskia Freytag (04/2020- 04/2022)
  • Katerina Kechris. (04/2021 - 04/2022)