This course provides comprehensive end-to-end training on how to perform and analyse data from long-read single-cell RNA-seq experiments. 

Consisting of a mixture of conceptual and methodological lectures and hands-on bioinformatics sessions, we will provide an overview of the current long-read methods for single-cell experiments, data processing, through to data interpretation and presentation - including best practice and tips as learned first-hand by Earlham Institute’s faculty.   

What will I learn?

• Detailed overview of single-cell long-read sequencing technologies
• Optimal method selection across diverse experimental applications
• Best practices in experimental design and data management
• End-to-end workflow for generating, processing, and interpreting long-read RNA-seq data - specifically in the context of single-cell experiments, including:
  • Quality control,
  • Mapping,
  • Annotation,
  • Quantification,
  • Dataset Integration,
  • Single Cell Clustering and Annotation,
  • Data Visualisation. 
     

Who is this training for? 

Researchers who are new to and are involved in design or delivery of project(s) centred around single-cell long-read sequencing. We particularly encourage those in the grant application or experimental design stages. 

Course prerequisites 

You should already have:

• Understanding of the key conceptual differences between bulk RNA-seq and single-cell RNA-seq
• Basic familiarity with laboratory methods commonly used in single-cell research, including cell isolation, cDNA generation, and library preparation workflows (e.g. 10x Genomics)
• Basic understanding of key molecular biology concepts underpinning scRNA-seq, including mRNA capture, reverse transcription, the role of cell barcodes, and unique molecular identifiers (UMIs)
• Basic familiarity with key concepts in standard (i.e. short-read) scRNA-seq data analysis, including the structure of single-cell gene expression data and common quality control metrics.

Registrants will be granted access to our pre-requisite materials nearer to the event to ensure all participants are familiar with the above concepts. 

Review of these pre-requisite materials MUST be completed before the course takes place. It is anticipated that this should require no longer than 4 hours and does not need to be completed all at once.