About Us
Welcome to the Atlantic Node of the Canadian Bioinformatics Hub–Canada’s platform for Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Data Science skills and community development. The national CBH network consists of six Regional Nodes hosted by partner institutions in strategic regions: Atlantic, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, the Prairies, and British Columbia. Each node plays a crucial role in CBH’s mission by offering localized training programs, building partnerships with regional stakeholders, and providing opportunities for active involvement of community members in their initiatives.
The Atlantic Node is based at Dalhousie University and covers all of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. This regional team is responsible for representing your bioinformatics and computational biology interests at the national level. We are addressing our regional needs with a comprehensive training program and community platform built on a foundation of inclusiveness, equity, and diversity. This initiative will equip our researchers with the skills to manage and analyze large data sets and to make groundbreaking health and environmental discoveries.
Our resources are structured around the platform’s two main pillars: training and community. The Training Portal will serve as a central hub for all partner-led bioinformatics and professional development training programs aligned with competency-based learning paths. It will also host our training awards program. The Community portal will extend the trainee experience with valuable resources and activities, including career recognition awards, mentorship opportunities, networking events, a national conference, and regional bioinformatics user groups.
CBH Atlantic Team
Robert Beiko, PhD
Director, CBH Atlantic
Professor, Dalhousie University
Co-founder and Director of Data, Dartmouth Ocean Technologies
Rob (or “Dr. Robert Beiko”, if you want to be all formal about it) is an Associate Professor in Bioinformatics in the Faculty of Computer Science at Dalhousie University. Before coming to Dal in 2006, he was a postdoc in the lab of Mark Ragan at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. And before that, he completed a PhD in Biology at the University of Ottawa (1998-2003). Although all of his formal training was in biology, an interest in machine-learning approaches, algorithms for identifying important evolutionary events, and visualization of biological data have ultimately led him to put down stakes in Computer Science and collaborate with some of the best in the business here.
Ben Fisher, MSc
Regional Coordinator, CBH Atlantic
Ben has a Master of Science degree in Microbiology and Immunology, completing his bioinformatics training under Dr. Morgan Langille at Dalhousie University. Throughout his training, he has instructed others in genetics, molecular biology, and microbiome data science. Ben is passionate about continued education of trainees and professionals, and firmly believes that enhancing bioinformatics and computational biology competencies will support the success of Canada’s current and future scientists.
Contact
To contact CBH Atlantic, email atlantic@bioinformatics.ca or use our contact form. For general inquiries about CBH, contact our central leadership unit at info@bioinformatics.ca.
Additionally, visit our LinkedIn page for regional updates.