Nowadays, mass spectrometry-based proteomics is a method of choice for studying protein quantities, structures, interactions and modifications in high-throughput setups. For these reasons, it is widely used in academia and industry performing biological, biomedical and clinical research. This is a highly interdisciplinary field that evolves at a fast pace, and for this reason, it strongly relies on experts in informatics and statistics. However, the community of bioinformaticians working on mass spectrometry data acquisition and signal processing, or integration and statistical analysis of mass spectrometry data remains scarce.
The European Bioinformatics Community (EuBIC) is an initiative by the European Proteomics Association (EuPA) - a federation of 21 European national proteomics societies including Denmark. It aims to bring together the bioinformatics community with a focus on mass spectrometry-based proteomics and improve bioinformatics through the setup of community-driven dynamics. EuBIC forms an accessible contact point for any proteomics bioinformatics questions by providing educational material online (at https://www.proteomics-academy.org/ and through a mailing list for direct support) and by organizing bioinformatics hubs at several conferences (such as HUPO). Furthermore, EuBIC organizes a dedicated yearly conference to bring together and educate researchers in computational proteomics, alternating between a general conference and a developer’s meeting.
In 2020, the EuBIC developer’s meeting will take place in Nyborg, Denmark (13 - 17 January 2020). Organized by and for proteomics bioinformatics researchers, it will provide a common meeting base for European scientists active in the field of bioinformatics and computational proteomics. Young scientists are explicitly encouraged to join and participate in the meeting.