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Working with the BTI Bioinformatics Core

This page is for Principal Investigators (PIs) who are interested in collaborating with the Brain Tumor Institute (BTI) Bioinformatics Core on a project. See also Services for what we offer and Authorship Guidelines for how we handle authorship and acknowledgment.

Getting Started

  1. Reach out early. Contact Dr. Jo Lynne Rokita (Core Director) or Bailey Farrow (Senior Bioinformatics Operations and Program Manager) to discuss your project idea, even at the conception stage. Early involvement allows the Core to contribute meaningfully to study design, which is often required to meet authorship criteria (see Authorship Guidelines).
  2. Describe the project. Be prepared to share:
    • A brief description of the scientific question and study design.
    • The type(s) of data involved (e.g. RNA-seq, WGS/WES, single-cell, clinical/metadata) and where they currently live.
    • Anticipated timeline and any hard deadlines (e.g. grant submissions, conference abstracts).
    • Funding source for the analysis.
  3. Submit a request. Once scoped, submit your request through the BTI Bioinformatics Ticket Tracker so it can be logged and prioritized alongside other Core work. Internally, Core staff track the resulting work as an issue in the Internal Ticket Tracker (see Project Management).

Prioritization and Scheduling

The Core plans work in two-week sprints (see Sprint Planning). New requests are reviewed and prioritized during Sprint Planning, so turnaround time depends on current workload and priority relative to other active projects. Time-sensitive requests (e.g. an upcoming submission deadline) should be flagged as early as possible so they can be accounted for in planning.

Lead Times for Grant Consults

Grant-related requests need more lead time than typical analysis requests, since they compete with other Core commitments and often require budget or methods input from multiple staff. Please reach out according to the following minimum lead times, counted from your internal (institutional) due date, not the sponsor deadline:

Request Type Minimum Lead Time
Grant review — specific aims and experimental details outlined, for budget assessment 4 weeks (1 month) before internal due date
Grant methods writing 8 weeks (2 months) before internal due date

For requirements around pre-submission review of the resulting scholarly outputs (abstracts, manuscripts, etc.), see Pre-Submission Review.

During the Project

  • Bailey Farrow will be the primary point of contact for the project.
  • Multiple engineers and scientists may play roles in the project, but one scientist will serve as lead analyst.
  • Progress and blockers are tracked internally via the associated GitHub issue(s).
  • The PI is expected to be reasonably available to answer scientific questions that affect analysis decisions, since Core staff involved in analytical judgment calls may be entitled to authorship consideration.
  • The PI is expected to attend meetings related to the project.

Before Submission

Any scholarly output (abstract, poster, presentation, preprint, manuscript, patent) that includes bioinformatics contributions should be shared with the Core for review before submission. See Pre-Submission Review for required notice periods.