A Field Guide to Metagenomics
A 7-day live online course that takes you from raw sequencing data to a finished microbial community analysis. Beginner-friendly, with no coding required.
Founding-cohort price: ₹2,000 ₹3,000 for the first 10 seats, registered by October 15. Cohort 01 is the first-ever run of this course, and its earliest learners get the lowest price.
Takes about a minute. There is no payment on the form: I contact you first, and your seat is confirmed once you pay. How it works
- 7 days
- Live · 6:30 to 7:45 PM IST
- 25 seats per batch
- Founding price ₹2,000
Computational biology, taught like a field trip.
Tidal Genomics is a cohort-based learning brand for life-science students in India. Each cohort takes one big idea in computational biology and works through it live, in a small group, so you finish with something you did, not something you watched.
Tidal Genomics is an Udyam-registered sole proprietorship based in Goa, India. Udyam Reg. No. UDYAM-GA-01-0063887.
Small cohorts
25 seats per batch, so your questions get answered and nobody is lost in the crowd.
Live and hands-on
You work on real data during every session, not just watch slides.
Beginner first
Built for college and university students who are curious about bioinformatics. No prior experience needed.
So what is metagenomics?
A spoonful of seawater or sediment holds thousands of microbial species, and most can never be grown in a lab. Metagenomics reads all their DNA at once, so we can ask two questions: who is there? and what can they do?
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Collect
Take a sample of water or sediment from the wild.
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Sequence
Read the DNA of every organism in it.
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Identify
Name the microbes and count how many of each.
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Understand
Compare places, find their genes, and see what they do.
By Day 7, you will have done it yourself.
Not a lecture series. Every skill below is something you practise live on real public sequencing data, then use again in your capstone. By the end of Day 7 you will have a finished analysis of a real dataset, a rerunnable workflow and a written report that you built yourself.
Find real data
Locate a public sequencing project on NCBI and read its sample information like a researcher.
Clean it up
Check read quality and trim problems before they spoil your results.
Name the microbes
Turn raw reads into a list of who lives in the sample, and explore it as an interactive chart.
Compare communities
Measure diversity, draw ordination maps, and see how the environment shapes them.
Read the genes
Move from who is there to what they can do, using KEGG, COG and CAZy.
Connect the dots
Follow any microbe through NCBI, GTDB, UniProt and the scientific literature.
- Understand how scientists rebuild genomes of microbes that have never been grown in a lab (MAGs)
- Make clean, report-ready graphs in Excel
- Turn your analysis into a rerunnable Galaxy workflow
- Write a capstone report that shows your work
This is for you if…
- You are a life-science student or early-career researcher who wants hands-on experience with real sequencing data
- You are curious about bioinformatics but have never known where to start
- You want a project you can describe in a CV, SOP or interview
This is not for you if…
- You want command-line, Python or R training (this course runs in Galaxy, with no coding)
- You are looking for advanced, publication-level pipelines in a week
Seven days. One real dataset. One finished analysis.
Each day builds directly on the one before, so you move step by step from raw reads to a finished report.
- Find data
- Check quality
- Name microbes
- Compare
- Read genes
- Connect & graph
- Report
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1
Day 1
The Invisible Ocean
Meet the microbes that quietly run the ocean, then set up your workspace.
- Discover how ocean microbes drive the carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycles
- Learn what metagenomics can and cannot tell you, and when to choose 16S or shotgun sequencing
- Set up Galaxy and run your first analysis
Galaxy -
2
Day 2
Find the Data, Check the Reads
Open a real sequencing project and learn how to judge whether you can trust your data.
- Find a public project on NCBI and read its sample information
- See what a sequencing file really contains
- Check read quality and trim away problems
NCBI SRAFastQCfastpMultiQC -
3
Day 3
Who Is Out There?
Turn millions of DNA reads into a list of named microbes.
- Run a 16S workflow from raw reads to a table of microbes and their abundances
- Assign names using the SILVA reference database
- Explore your community in an interactive Krona chart and a bar chart
DADA2SILVAKrona -
4
Day 4
How Diverse Is It?
Measure diversity, compare places, and ask what shapes a microbial community.
- Calculate diversity within and between samples
- Draw an ordination plot that shows how similar your samples are
- Relate patterns to environmental measurements, and learn why correlation is not causation
PhyloseqAlpha & beta diversityOrdination -
5
Day 5
What Are They Doing?
Move from who is there to what they can do.
- Profile a whole-community shotgun dataset
- Read functional annotations: pathways, gene families and enzymes
- Compare your 16S and shotgun results side by side
Kraken2KEGGCOGCAZy -
6
Day 6
Genomes, Databases and Graphs
Connect your results to the world's databases, then present them clearly.
- Get an introduction to metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs): how genomes are reconstructed from mixed DNA
- Follow one microbe through NCBI Taxonomy, GTDB, UniProt and the scientific literature
- Build three clear charts in Excel for your report
GTDBUniProtExcel -
7
Day 7
Show What You Found
Present your findings and leave with a finished project.
- Present your results and compare them with published research
- Save your analysis as a rerunnable Galaxy workflow
- Submit your capstone report and receive a roadmap for what to learn next
Galaxy workflowsCapstone
A finished project, not just notes.
Your capstone report
A complete write-up of your own analysis, with written feedback from the instructor.
A rerunnable workflow
Your analysis saved in Galaxy, so you can repeat it on new data.
Recordings and next steps
Every session to revisit, and a clear map of what to learn next.
Participants who meet the completion criteria also receive a Tidal Genomics certificate.
Pick your batch.
The first cohort of A Field Guide to Metagenomics runs twice, with the same course and the same instructor. Choose whichever fits your calendar.
Why ₹2,000? Cohort 01 is the first-ever run of this course, and I want to welcome its earliest learners. The first 10 people to register by October 15 get the founding price. After that, the standard price is ₹3,000.
- 7 live sessions, one per day
- 6:30 PM to 7:45 PM IST
- 25 seats
- 7 live sessions, one per day
- 6:30 PM to 7:45 PM IST
- 25 seats
Your seat in three simple steps.
Nothing to pay today. Share your details, and I will take it from there.
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01
Share your details
Fill in a one-minute form with your name, contact details and preferred batch. No payment is taken.
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02
Get a personal reply
I will message you within 24 hours to answer your questions and send the payment details.
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03
Confirm and get ready
Pay to lock in your seat. Before Day 1, you receive your joining link and a short Galaxy setup guide.
Included: 7 live sessions, recordings of every session, a capstone report with written feedback, a rerunnable Galaxy workflow, and a Tidal Genomics certificate on meeting the completion criteria.
Still deciding? Ask me anything, with no pressure, on LinkedIn or Instagram (@tidalgenomics).
Taught by Soham Naik.
I am a computational biologist trained in Marine Biotechnology at Goa University, and I spend my working life turning raw marine DNA into stories. As lead developer of computational workflows across multiple marine metagenomics projects, I have taken sequencing reads through shotgun assembly, taxonomic classification and the reconstruction of genomes from microbes nobody has ever grown in a lab. My research has been published in two papers, in Microbiological Research and Marine Biotechnology (Springer Nature), and I have presented it at the World Ocean Science Congress and at Goa University's conference on biodiversity and bio-innovation. Now I am bringing that field guide to you.
- M.Sc. Marine Biotechnology, Goa University
- Former Researcher, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography
- Published in Microbiological Research and Marine Biotechnology (Springer Nature)
- Presented at the World Ocean Science Congress
Before you register.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Every analysis runs in your browser through Galaxy, a free platform used by researchers worldwide. You learn what each step does and why, which carries over to any tool you use later.
Who is this for?
If you are curious about how biology meets data, you belong here. The course welcomes college and university students from any life-science background, early-career researchers, and anyone who wants to learn bioinformatics from the ground up. No prior knowledge is needed, only curiosity and a willingness to try.
What do I need to take part?
A laptop or desktop with a stable internet connection, a free Galaxy account (we set it up together on Day 1), and Excel or Google Sheets for Day 6.
What if I miss a session?
Every live session is recorded and shared with the cohort, so you can catch up in your own time.
Will I get a certificate?
Yes, for participants who meet the completion criteria, which are shared at the start of the course.
Why is the founding price ₹2,000?
Cohort 01 is the first time this course runs, so the first 10 seats, registered by October 15, are offered at a founding price of ₹2,000 to welcome our earliest learners. The standard price is ₹3,000.
How do I pay, and what happens after I register?
The form does not take payment. After you submit it, I contact you within 24 hours with the payment details and answer any questions. Your seat is confirmed once payment is received. See the steps.
Can I ask questions before paying?
Yes. Message me on LinkedIn or Instagram, or mention your question on the form and I will answer when I contact you.
Which batch should I choose?
Both batches teach the same course with the same instructor, so pick whichever dates suit you. Seats are limited to 25 per batch. Register here.
Ready to read the sea's DNA?
Founding price ₹2,000 for the first 10 seats, registered by October 15. 25 seats per batch. Batch 1 starts October 27, 2026.
Claim a founding seat →