BOSC keynote
I had the privilege of giving a keynote talk highlighting the importance of data quality, in particular in an AI/LLM world, at the Bioinformatics Open Source Conference (BOSC), and with many thanks to the BOSC organizing committee and sponsors.
Slides are available here (PDF, 18MB) or below:
It was both terrifying and exciting to be given such an opportunity; we rarely get 1h to discuss our research and topics of interests. I spent an enormous amount of time preparing (there are still post-its all over the walls of my office nook!) as I really wanted to describe my data journey and where I think it is important we, as an open source community, focus our efforts: “with great models, comes great data responsibility”. In particular I wanted to advocate for the need to make our data TRUE - Tracked, Reasonable, Understandable and Ethical. This is a pillar in my lab’s research topics and I believe will be fundamental in making our data AI-ready and maximally reusable to drive biological insights.
Preparing this keynote talk was very energizing as I had the chance to really think about what matters to me today, and where I want to take my research moving forward. It was also nostalgic looking back over my data journey and thinking about the amazing collaborators who have inspired me through the years and continue to do so today. While in some (or many!) cases our paths have diverged, I am really thankful for their input over the last 20 years. I am sure I omitted someone (isn’t it always dreadful to make an acknowledgement slide and realize you may forget a name…): I have truly benefitted from so many exceptional interactions that I couldn’t even hope to come close to mentioning everybody.
I do want to mention 3 incredible scientists that have been guides, mentors and friends:
- Fiona Brinkman was my post-doctoral fellowhip’s supervisor at Simon Fraser University. She gave me a first inside peek at what it means to be a PI and continues to awe me with her ongoing drive.
- Melissa Haendel is an amazing role model. We worked together on many projects, and quite frankly, I don’t know how she does it all AND manages to support her colleagues and find time to provide feedback on life and science.
- Helen Parkinson is such a source of inspiration and so dedicated to make her team succeed; she taught me, amongst many other things, that being a good manager means supporting the people you work with, and making sure they have a path to success.
As said during my presentation, if you ever have the chance to work with any of them just jump at the opportunity!