Closing the gap: GetGenome and The Sainsbury Laboratory bring hands-on AI in Genomics training to underserved regions
A new AI in Genomics workshop will provide around 75 researchers — the majority early in their careers — with training in cutting-edge AI approaches to turn genome sequences into structural insight.
Norwich, UK, 19 August 2026 — The Sainsbury Laboratory and GetGenome are delighted to announce AI in Genomics: Real-World Applications and Opportunities, a hands-on workshop bringing the latest AI-enabled genomics tools to researchers in Tunisia this September.
Delivered as a single programme across two cities, the workshop will run in Tunis in collaboration with the Centre of Biotechnology of Borj Cédria on 14–15 September 2026, and at the Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Sfax on 17–18 September 2026. It will reach approximately 75 researchers, primarily early-career, and will welcome international participants, including researchers from across Africa and Europe, alongside Tunisia's vibrant research community.
James Canham, GetGenome lead, said: “AI is transforming genomics but without deliberate action to widen access, and deliver the necessary skills and support, it risks deepening the divide between well- and under-resourced research communities.”
Addressing that divide is at the heart of GetGenome's mission to remove barriers to access to genomics technology and training, so that researchers everywhere can thrive in genomics research and contribute to future discoveries worldwide. Through its AI in Genomics programme, GetGenome provides opportunities for researchers to train with the most up-to-date, AI-enabled tools, building not just skills, but lasting local capability.
The workshop
Over two intensive, practical days, participants will work through a complete structural biology workflow captured in four themes: Predict, Interpret, Compare and Design.
They will predict protein structures with the latest modelling tools, interpret and visualise the results, compare structures across datasets, and explore protein design and AI-assisted coding — turning raw sequences into real-world structural insight.
Designed to make this capability self-sustaining long after the workshop ends, GetGenome's Facilitator Programme is preparing a cohort of nine local facilitators to co-deliver the training and become the next leaders and mentors in AI for genomics.
The workshop is supported through Bifrost, a research and technology initiative led by Professor Sophien Kamoun and his team at The Sainsbury Laboratory, which uses AlphaFold 3 to predict how proteins interact based on their genome sequences.
Bifrost's commitment to open science and equitable access to advanced tools runs through this workshop: the same methods accelerating discovery in the laboratory are being placed directly into the hands of the wider research community.
The AI in Genomics: Real-World Applications and Opportunities workshop in Tunisia marks a step toward a future where advances in AI-powered genomics are open, inclusive and shared, ensuring that researchers everywhere can turn genome data into discovery.
Learn more
• AI in Genomics: https://getgenome.net/impact/ai-in-genomics
• Facilitator Programme: https://getgenome.net/impact/ai-in-genomics/facilitator-programme
