Dr Laura Perlaza‑Jiménez, Manager of the Monash Genomics and Bioinformatics Platform’s Bioinformatics Node, recently joined bioinformatics leaders from around the world to take part in the Managing a Bioinformatics Core Facility course at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL‑EBI) in the UK.
Held from 8-10 December 2025, the knowledge‑exchange workshop brought together managers of bioinformatics core facilities to share strategies, discuss challenges and learn from EMBL‑EBI’s experienced service teams. As facilities continue to support increasingly data-intensive research across genomics, proteomics and structural biology, the course focuses on issues such as resourcing, reporting, project management and the design of sustainable, high‑impact services.
Dr Perlaza‑Jiménez, a specialist in transcriptomics and microbial genomics, said she had been seeking management training tailored to bioinformatics platforms, as neither purely industry‑focused nor traditional academic programs met her needs.
“This course stood out because it is specialised and tailored for exactly my position… so it was a no‑brainer to take the opportunity and I am glad I did!” Dr Perlaza‑Jiménez said.
Learning from a global community
The workshop emphasises peer learning, and Dr Perlaza‑Jiménez said this was one of the most valuable aspects.
“One highlight was having in the same room a group of managers from around the world discussing similar challenges and sharing alternative solutions,” she said.
She noted that the course content addressed the practical realities of running a core facility – from team management and user training, to cost models and impact reporting.
“Management, structure, finances and reporting are quite specific from a platform perspective, and the instructors did a great job of explaining the motivation behind each of the solutions they presented.”
Bringing new frameworks and tools back to Monash
Dr Perlaza‑Jiménez returned to Monash University with several concrete ideas to strengthen operations at the Bioinformatics Node, which acts as a hub for the university’s network of bioinformaticians and partners in training and infrastructure development.
“The course gave me several concrete takeaways,” she said. “I came away with a more strategic framework for managing and reporting on my team’s activities, and a clearer approach to leveraging existing management tools, rather than reinventing the wheel.”
“It also gave me practical ideas around structuring services, tracking utilisation, and communicating the platform’s value to stakeholders. I am already thinking about how to apply some of these frameworks to make our operations more transparent and sustainable.”
Supporting researchers through better‑managed platforms
As research teams grapple with increasingly large and complex datasets, strong operational practices in core facilities are becoming essential. Dr Perlaza‑Jiménez said the workshop reinforced the link between good management and better scientific support.
“A well-managed platform doesn’t struggle under administrative burden, and that directly frees the team to focus on research problems rather than operational ones,” she said.
“By investing time in automating processes and improving our standard operating procedures and workflows, we reduce friction for everyone. The result is that researchers get faster, more consistent support, and the team has more capacity to engage with complex and emerging computational challenges.”
A globally connected community
Beyond the structured sessions, Dr Perlaza‑Jiménez said the most valuable part of the experience was being surrounded by peers who understood the unique space bioinformatics platforms occupy.
“I learned a great deal from the course itself, but honestly the best part was being in a room full of people who truly understood the unique challenges of running a bioinformatics platform,” she said.
“Learning not just from the instructors but from the experiences and expertise of the other participants made the whole experience incredibly enriching.”
More training opportunities
In 2025, Australian researchers also attended EMBL-EBI training events relating to structural bioinformatics, methods for infectious disease modelling using genomics, metabolomics analysis, RNA-seq and functional interpretation and single-cell RNA-seq analysis with Python, as well as many events at EMBL’s other European sites.
More information on training at EMBL: https://www.embl.org/training/
Banner image provided by EMBL-EBI. Credit: Omotoke Labiyi