Computing for Cancer Informatics (Coursera)

This course aims to provide research leaders with awareness and guidance about:

- Basic computing terminology

- Concepts about how computers and computing systems work

- Differences between shared computing resources

- Appropriate etiquette for shared computing resources

- Computing resources designed for cancer research

- Considerations for computing resource decisions

What You Will Learn

- Basics about how computers and shared computing resources work.

- Understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of currently available computing resource options, especially for cancer research.

- Understanding of important considerations when making computing decisions.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Welcome

In this module we will introduce you to how the material will be presented and the goals for the course.

Basic Building Block of Computers

In this module we will start by describing some basics about how computers work. We feel that familiarity with this information will be helpful for you when you need to make computing decisions for your work.

WEEK 2

Binary data to computations

In this module we will talk about how computers store and process data. This will be helpful for understanding computing and storage requirements for your work.

WEEK 3

Computing Resources

In this module we will describe some basics about file sizes and computing capacity. We will specifically focus on common types of files used in cancer research. We will also introduce some general concepts for shared computing resource, which can be a great option if you wish to do work that might be too intensive for your personal computer.

Shared Computing Etiquette

In this module we will describe some common good practices for using traditional shared computing resources like clusters. These guidelines will help ensure that you don't use shared resources in a way that might bother others, so that you can continue to have access to such shared resources.

WEEK 4

Research Platforms

In this module we will take you through a tour of some computing resource platforms designed for researchers, including some that may be especially useful to cancer researchers.

Data Management Decisions

In this final module we will provide guidance about how to decide what computing resources would be most beneficial for your work.