About Us
Welcome to the Ontario 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.
CBH Ontario is based at University Health Network, with Karen Cranston as Director. This regional team is responsible for representing your bioinformatics and computational biology interests at the national level.
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 Ontario Team
Karen Cranston
Director, CBH Ontario
Staff Scientist, Data Team, University Health Network
Karen is a computational biologist working in software development that supports data sharing and research. Currently, she is the Team Lead of the CanDIG platform, a federated healthcare data sharing project of the University Health Network Data Aggregation, Translation, and Architecture (DATA) team.
Prior to making the move to health care, she worked on phylogenetic inference (building evolutionary trees from DNA sequences) and phyloinformatics (synthesis and management of phylogenetic data). She is a passionate supporter of Open Science and Reproducible Science – making research data, scientific software, and publications freely available for review, use, and re-use.
In support of open and reproducible science, she has been involved with teaching and leadership of The Carpentries and their lesson programs Software Carpentry and Data Carpentry. She is currently on the executive committee of pyOpenSci.
Neha Ratti
Regional Coordinator, CBH Ontario
As the Ontario Training Coordinator, Neha is passionate about advancing bioinformatics and data science training across the province. With a strong background in project management, event coordination, and stakeholder engagement, she strives to create impactful initiatives that foster collaboration and skill development. Her experience in organizing training programs, developing policies, and building supportive environments enables her to contribute to Ontario’s leadership in the bioinformatics community. Neha is dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations to thrive in this dynamic and evolving field.
Nous contacter
To contact CBH Ontario, email ontario@bioinformatics.ca or use our contact form. For general inquiries about CBH, contact our Platform Leadership Unit at info@bioinformatics.ca.
Additionally, visit our LinkedIn page for regional updates.