Bioinformatics at Naturalis

Bioinformatics

At Naturalis, research and development in bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics takes place on an ongoing basis. Projects are available that range from the fundamental, when a new research idea needs to be tested out, to the highly applied, for example when a piece of functionality needs to be added to our digital infrastructure.

Supervisors & Contact

Rutger Vos (Naturalis Biodiversity Center)
rutger.vos@naturalis.nl

Period and duration

Any duration

Study and level

BSc or MSc

Background
and context

We are a hub for open source bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics. Our work focuses on the quantification of biodiversity through many modalities: by species identification, development of higher classifications, and the integration and analysis of many types of species traits. Our research often involves machine learning and AI. To make all of this possible, a lot of development work is needed, whether that is single-use workflows for particular studies, or reusable infrastructure components. As a student you play an important part in this process.

Objectives
and goals

Your contribution during an internship is not simply schoolwork. What you bring to the table is meant to be used, in scientific publications and ongoing research. As such, you will deliver something useful and transferrable that we will hold to the highest standards.

Bioinformatics

Methods
and approach

Every project involves open source development following good community standards. We follow rigorous approaches to coding style, documentation, unit testing, and project organization. All reporting, commenting, and presenting is in English. You will be a member of the research team of Rutger Vos, where we try to get the best out of ourselves and each other through mutual support and respect.

Requirements

You will need to have:

  • a productive knowledge of at least one scripting language such as Python or R
  • a background in life sciences, with an understanding of the science behind our project
  • an interest in working together to increase our understanding of biodiversity