4th Vietnam School of Biology
Metagenome Analysis in One Health Practice – From 16S to Shotgun
September 3 - 7, 2025 at ICISE, Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh, Vietnam

Founded in 1993 by Jean Tran Thanh Van, the association Rencontres du Vietnam, a non-profit organization and an official partner of UNESCO, has as its objective the promotion of international exchanges between Vietnam and the international community, particularly in the areas of science and education. It also aims at the encouragement and integration of Vietnamese scientists into the international scientific community and at supporting the role of education and science by encouraging scientific awareness and stimulating passion for science in the younger generation. The Rencontres du Vietnam lies within the scope of two series of scientific meetings created by Jean Tran Thanh Van : the Rencontres de Moriond in 1966 and the Rencontres de Blois in 1989.

The creation of the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science Education (ICISE) in the city of Quy Nhon (Central Vietnam) has the ambitious objective to focus on developing Science and Education by fostering exchanges between Asia-Pacific scientists and colleagues from other parts of the world.

The biology/biotechnology in agriculture, medicine, industry and environment have been contributing to breakthroughs in science and technology and the development of the Vietnamese economy at the moment and in the future. Vietnam School of Biology (VSOB) was established in the series of schools in ICISE, Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh and sponsored by Rencontres du Vietnam. The main role of VSOB is to provide new and modern knowledge, techniques and approaches in the field of biology/biotechnology to undergraduates, postgraduates and young scientists in Vietnam and abroad for enhancing scientific research capacity. Additionally, VSOB is also the venue for meetings/workshops/conferences between Vietnamese and worldwide scientists in the field of biology/biotechnology.

The fourth VSOB will be devoted to a training course at theoretical and practical levels with the topic: “Metagenome Analysis in One Health Practice – From 16S to Shotgun”.

Course description

This course is designed to equip participants with the essential skills to effectively apply bioinformatics tools and techniques in metagenomic research. Participants will gain hands-on experience with both 16S rRNA and shotgun sequencing methods, focusing on the principles, bioinformatics tools, and methodologies used to analyze microbiome data. The course will emphasize processing raw sequencing data, performing quality control, identifying microbial diversity, and analyzing bacterial composition. Additionally, participants will learn to visualize results using R to interpret biological findings in the context of One Health

Brief background

Metagenomics is a powerful tool for studying the complex microbial communities present in environmental, human, and animal samples. With the advancement of sequencing technologies, particularly 16S rRNA and shotgun sequencing, researchers are now able to gain deeper insights into microbial diversity, composition, and function. These techniques are essential in One Health research, which recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health.

Course objectives

Students are familiar with and can use and apply modern bioinformatics technologies used in metagenomic research. Processing of raw sequencing data from process raw sequencing data from both 16S and shotgun metagenomic sequencing, including quality control, diversity analysis, bacterial composition identification, and data visualization.

Location

ICISE center, located by the sea and surrounded by mountains, about 6km from the city of Quy Nhon. The lecture hall is equipped with a video projector, a blackboard, audio system, wireless connection. ICISE has a nice, quiet campus with coconut trees and a beautiful beach.

Key dates

• 31/03/2025 : The 4th VSOB registration open
• 30/06/2025 : The 4th VSOB registration deadline
• 07/07/2025 : Announcement of selected the 4th VSOB participants & scholarship recipients
• 15/07/2025 : Confirmation of attendance for the 4th VSOB by participants
• 02/09/2025 : Welcome all participants to Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh, Vietnam
• 03/09/2025 : Opening ceremony of the 4th VSOB
• 07/09/2025 : Closing ceremony of the 4th VSOB

Criteria selection

Target audience:

The workshop is specifically designed for highly motivated students, graduates, postgraduates, bioinformaticians, and principal investigators (PIs) who are currently conducting or planning to conduct metagenomic studies in the near future, with a particular focus on One Health.

Prerequisites:

You will also require your own laptop computer. Minimum requirements: 1024x768 screen resolution, 1.5GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 10GB free disk space, recent versions of Windows, Mac OS X or Linux (Most computers purchased in the past 3-4 years likely meet these requirements). If you do not have access to your own computer, you may loan one from the CBW. Send us an email for more information.

Target Participants

• Undergraduate & graduate students, PhD candidates, and early-career researchers in Biology, Biotechnology, Medicine, Environmental Science, and One Health.
• All sessions are held in-person at ICISE and delivered in English, combining lectures, software demonstrations, and hands-on group exercises.

Core Topics

• 16S rRNA Amplicon Analysis: experimental design, preprocessing, diversity analysis
• Shotgun Metagenomics: assembly, annotation, functional profiling
• Data Visualization with R: heatmaps, ordination plots, network graphs
• Keynote Lectures: experts from Vietnam, India, ...

All VSOB-4 participants are also invited to attend the 3rd Vietnam–India Workshop on: “Hands-on Metagenomics Sequencing with Nanopore Technology”

Date: Early November 2025 (exact dates to be announced)

Venue: Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India.

This workshop offers a unique chance to deepen your skills in long-read metagenomic sequencing and Nanopore applications in One Health.