Measuring the Microbiome: Methods and Tools

This is an advanced course addressing the methods and tools used to analyze microbiome data, as well as their implications for clinical study design. The course will include: (1) lectures focused on how the microbiome is measured, approaches to the analysis of highly multivariate microbiome data, and the bioinformatic tools used to execute these analyses; (2) hands-on R and command-line coding to build familiarity with commonly used tools and analytic methods; and (3) short, practical assignments to reinforce the lectures and classwork. The course will acquaint students with classic literature in the field of microbiome research and prepare students to integrate microbiome data collection and analysis with epidemiologic research methodologies.