GISAID Academy Training Series | Japan 2025
GISAID Advanced Bioinformatics Workshop in collaboration with GISRS, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza Tokyo and the Hokkaido University
Sapporo, 21 September 2025
Time: 12:30pm - 5:30pm (JST) UTC +9hrs
Venue: Hokkaido University Conference Hall
On the eve of the influenza vaccine virus selection meeting in Sapporo for the recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2026 Southern Hemisphere influenza season, National Institute of Infectious Diseases within the newly formed Japan Institute for Health Security, held a GISAID advanced bioinformatics training workshop to further harness NGS data for public health responses.
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
NGS Genomic Surveillance
Welcome Address
Dr. Yoshiaki Hitomi
Director-General, Hokkaido Institute of Public Health
Real-time Sequence Data Annotation, Curation and Retrieval
Dr. Sebastian Maurer-Stroh
Executive Director, GISAID Data Science Centre at A*STAR, Singapore
- GISAID Databases and Tool Ecosystem
- From data upload to real-time data curation
- Data retrieval and generating customized summaries using EpiCharts
- Provenance and Reproducible Science using EPI_SET and publication DOIs
Next Generation Sequencing and Quality checking
Dr. Yi-Mo Deng, WHO Collaborating Centre Melbourne
Rapid sharing of genomic data from notifiable
avian influenza viruses via GISAID to ensure transparency
Dr. Hiono, Hokkaido University
Genomic Analysis of Zoonotic Influenza Viruses Around the World
Dr. Lorcan Carnegie, Offlu Network, FAO, Italy
2:30 – 3:30 pm
Comparative Sequence Analysis
Antiviral drug susceptibility surveillance in Japan and GISRS
Dr. Emi Takashita, WHO Collaborating Center Tokyo
National Institute of Infectious Diseases
Mutational Phenotype Analysis and Clade Assignment
Raphael TC Lee, GISAID Data Science Centre, Singapore
- Introducing EpiPhylo
- Clade Assignment
- Linking Mutations to Literature Phenotypes
- Drug Susceptibility Annotation in GISAID
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Coffee/Tea break
4:00 – 5:20 pm
Comparative Sequence Analysis (continued)
Customized Comparative Genomics and Phylogenetic Tree Generation
Dr. Erik Karlsson, Insitut Pasteur du Cambodge, Phnom Penh
- Latest Trends in Zoonotic Influenza Surveillance
- Phylodynamic Visualization
- AudacityInstant
AI Tools for Epidemic Intelligence
Dr. Raphael TC Lee, GISAID Data Science Centre, Singapore
- EmergingVariants
- Monitoring Geographical Distribution of Clades
Monitoring Diagnostic Primers using PrimerChecker
Dr. Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, GISAID Data Science Centre, Singapore
5:20 – 5:30 pm
Q&A and Closing
Closing Remarks
Dr. Masayuki Saijo
Director-General for Health & Welfare Bureau, Public Health Office, City of Sapporo
This event was supported by
