Bioinformatics Research Program | University at Albany

Overview

The RNA Institute Summer Bioinformatics Research Program is a fully virtual training program for undergraduate students and students of higher academic levels.

Each research program is split into two parts:

Learning the basic skills of RNA sequencing data analysis through daily live lectures
Applying skills learned to an independent computational research project with an RNA Institute-affiliated faculty mentor

The 2026 Summer Application is now LIVE! Please click the 2026 Summer Bioinformatics Research Program Application Link to apply today!

NOTE: This application portal is for U.S./ Canadian/ International persons outside of the Global South only, including those who are permanent residents and F1/J1 visa holders. For all international applicants from the Global South (countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania), please remain patient for the updated STEM for Development application portal link.
We will be offering a rolling admissions basis until March 31, 2026. Applications will be reviewed starting December 2025 onwards.
Students who successfully complete the program will be award with an end of program certificate, a small stipend (U.S. ONLY), and a skill soft badge for Intro to Bioinformatics.

**For all international applicants from the Global South (countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania), please apply through STEM for Development application portal to be considered for this program using this international application link. Updated link coming the week of December 8, 2025.

2026 Bioinformatics Research Program Information

Summary

Summer 2026

Below is a summary of the Bioinformatics Research Program:

7 weeks in length, starts June 15th and ends August 1st
Skills learned include R coding, high performance computing via the command line, and RNA sequencing data interpretation and visualization as a project-based program
After being selected to the program, students will receive a welcome email with information, including some pre-course work and administrative paperwork, by the mid-May
The pre-course work develops basic programming skills, and these short online courses should be completed prior to the start date of June 15th
Participants are expected to be available for lectures, small group sessions, and seminars (all virtual)
The research program is separated into two projects:
- Project 1 is the same for all students and each will be provided RNA sequencing data to learn skills
  - Schedule includes daily lectures, daily mentoring, weekly seminars, & Project 1 presentations
- Project 2 is an independent computational project based on data from or relevant to research in their assigned faculty mentor's lab on topics such as microbiology, virology, muscular dystrophies, & more
  - Schedule includes Project 2 plan presentations, twice weekly mentoring, weekly seminars, & Project 2 final presentations
Participants are invited to present their final project in-person as a research poster at the annual RNA Institute RNA Day on August 1
Applications for an RNA Day travel award will be available to students that are over 1 hour from Albany, NY. Details will be announced during the program.
Participants unable to present their final project in-person on RNA Day will present virtually on July 31
Official Certificate of Completion, Introduction to Bioinformatics Skills digital badge, and a small stipend will be awarded based on the successful completion of the program
All US-citizens, or those on an F1 or J1 Visa, must apply through the RNA Institute by March 31, 2026
All international applicants must apply through the STEM for Development program (application deadline differs)

Eligibility

No prior experience needed!
Undergraduate or higher academic level only
Must have GPA above 3.0
Time commitment of 15-20 hours per week for seven weeks
- Includes daily lectures, daily small group sessions, weekly seminars, & independent work
Access to consistent high speed internet

2026 Schedule

*Below is an example of the program schedule. Subject to change*

Week #	Project #	Date	Day of Week	Lecture Topic 12:00-1:00PM EDT	Small Group Session (SGS) Topic 3:00- 4:00PM EDT	Seminars (schedule sent seperately)
Week 1	Project 1	June 15	Monday	Lecture 1: Intro biology, history of sequencing, & intro to RNASeq	SGS 1: Intro to small groups & pre-program material check in
		June 16	Tuesday	Lecture 2: DM1 Lecture	SGS 2: Install GlobalProtect VPN, get on HPCC, & map network drive
		June 17	Wednesday	Lecture 3: FASTQ files, DMSeq.org, intro bioinformatics, & the HPCC	SGS 3: Practice skills on navigating lab drive using command line
		June 18	Thursday	Lecture 4: Command line, HPCC jobs, & FASTQC	SGS 4: Download miniconda3 & STAR	Seminar 1 @11AM
		June 19	Friday	No Meetings (Juneteenth - US Holiday)

Week #	Project #	Date	Day of Week	Lecture Topic 12:00-1:00PM EDT	Small Group Session (SGS) Topic 3:00- 4:00PM EDT	Seminars (schedule sent seperately)
Week 2	Project 1	June 22	Monday	Lecture 5: Submit first job & STAR alignment	SGS 5: Submit STAR & troubleshoot
		June 23	Tuesday	Lecture 6: Differential gene expression analysis & figure generation	SGS 6: Configure RStudio to run DESeq2 & troubleshoot any errors
		June 24	Wednesday	Lecture 7: DGE figure generation (continued), intro to rMATS, & alternative splicing analysis	SGS 7: DGE figure code breakdown, download rMATS, & submit rMATS job
		June 25	Thursday	Lecture 8: rMATS output & AS figure generation	SGS 8: Configure RStudio to run maser, AS figure code breakdown, & troubleshoot any errors
		June 26	Friday	Lecture 9: Tips & tricks for the command line	SGS 9: Checkpoint for Project 1	Seminar 2 @9:30AM

Week #	Project #	Date	Day of Week	Lecture Topic 12:00-1:00PM EDT	Small Group Session (SGS) Topic 3:00- 4:00PM EDT
Week 3	Project 1	June 29	Monday	Lecture 10: Questions from Project 1 & expectation for Project 2	SGS 9: Checkpoint for finalizing Project 1
		June 30	Tuesday	Lecture 11: Gene ontology enrichment analysis	SGS 10: Project 1 Presentations
		July 1	Wednesday	Lecture 12: Alternative sequencing methods: Nanopore & single-cell sequencing	SGS 11: Project 1 Presentations (if needed)
		July 2	Thursday	No lecture	Optional SGS: Check students have access to data for Project 2, help plan research question and tools/pipeline to use
		July 3	Friday	TBD

Week #	Project #	Date	Day of Week	Lecture Topic 12:00-1:00PM EDT	Seminars (schedule sent seperately)
Week 4	Project 2	July 6	Monday	No lectures SGS 2x per week depending on Group Leaders’ schedules (Project 2 questions & help)
		July 7	Tuesday
		July 8	Wednesday
		July 9	Thursday	Presentations on Project 2 Plans
		July 10	Friday	Presentations on Project 2 Plans	Seminar 3 @TBD

Week #	Project #	Date	Day of Week	Lecture Topic 12:00-1:00PM EDT	Seminars (schedule sent seperately)
Week 5	Project 2	July 13	Monday	No lectures SGS 2x per week depending on Group Leaders’ schedules (Project 2 questions & help)
		July 14	Tuesday
		July 15	Wednesday
		July 16	Thursday
		July 17	Friday		Seminar 4 @9:30AM

Week #	Project #	Date	Day of Week	Lecture Topic 12:00-1:00PM EDT	Seminars (schedule sent seperately)
Week 6	Project 2	July 20	Monday	No lectures SGS 2x per week depending on Group Leaders’ schedules (Project 2 questions & help)
		July 21	Tuesday
		July 22	Wednesday
		July 23	Thursday
		July 24	Friday		Seminar 5 @9:30AM

Week #	Project #	Date	Day of Week	Lecture Topic 12:00-1:00PM EDT	Seminars (schedule sent seperately)
Week 7	Project 2	July 27	Monday	No lectures SGS 2x per week depending on Group Leaders’ schedules (Project 2 questions & help)
		July 28	Tuesday		Seminar 6 @9:30AM
		July 29	Wednesday
		July 30	Thursday	TBD
		July 31	Friday	2026 Bioinformatics Research Program Virtual Symposium (Remote only students virtual Project 2 presentations to entire cohort) Schedule TBD
		August 1	Saturday	RNA Institute’s 2026 RNA Day Celebration (Remote students local to Albany area or able to travel to campus can present Project 2 in person as posters) - Schedule TBD

2026 Small Groups

**Groups, group leaders, and trainees will be assigned and posted here closer to the program start date.