RTP AI in Bioinformatics Collaborative

The Bioinformatics Director's Dinner at NC State convened approximately 20 leaders from institutions including Duke, UNC, NIEHS, AWS, GSK, Syngenta, and Pairwise. The conversation was candid about the field's growing pains: AI tools are publishing faster than anyone can evaluate them, data standards remain fragmented across domains, and the question of what it means to be a "modern bioinformatician" has yet to be answered — let alone taught at scale.

Data standards & quality: Defining "AI-ready" data across human genomics, agriculture, and clinical domains
Workforce development Co-developed curriculum and a "modern bioinformatician" competency framework
Validated tools & benchmarks QA frameworks and publication-backed benchmarks for AI-based methods
Governance & guardrails Agent transparency standards, reproducibility requirements, and responsible AI templates

The collaborative is built on a straightforward premise: students want jobs in industry, industry wants trained students, and both need a workforce that can use AI tools confidently, critically, and rigorously. Fragmented preparation serves neither side. A common, regionally-led training and standards framework does.

The RTP AI in Bioinformatics Collaborative is well-positioned to lead this effort — bringing deep bioinformatics knowledge and relationships across the RTP ecosystem, and a mandate to train the next generation of bioinformatics scientists. Follow us as the collaborative takes shape.