1st Edition of DATATHON Mali: A meeting dedicated to the use of parasito-clinical and entomological data generated over 7 years, as part of the ICEMR-Mali program

The Onomo hotel in Bamako is hosting from Monday May 20 to Friday May 24, 2024, the first edition of Datathon. The opening ceremony was chaired by the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology (FMOS), Professor Seydou Doumbia, Director of UCRC and ICEMR Mali, in the presence of Professor Mamadou Wélé, Director of ACE-B Mali.

Organized by the University Clinical Research Center (UCRC) in partnership with the African Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Data-intensive Science (ACE-B), this 1st edition is devoted to the use of parasito-clinical data and longitudinal entomological studies over a period of 7 years (2010-2017), generated within the framework of the ICEMR-Mali program (International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research).

It will allow participants of 15 participants from Mali, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, all from fields related to data science or biological sciences, to use analysis tools, manage data and think creatively to generate information. By working as a team, Datathon participants expand their knowledge base by learning from each other and gaining experience solving problems in a fast-paced environment. They will use R and Python programming, machine learning and data visualization software.

The best will be awarded

At the end of the work, 3 groups of participants will be awarded prizes. Indeed, 9 criteria were chosen to decide between the 5 groups of 3 participants. These include: Project control and clarity, analytical and coding approaches, use of relevant data, quality and relevance of results, appropriate representation of results, correct interpretation of results, creativity and innovation, teamwork and complementarity, the level of project completion, and the clarity of the oral presentation. Thus, 1,500,000 FCFA goes to 1st place, 900,000 FCFA to 2nd place, and 6,00,000 FCFA to 3rd place.

Remember that this activity is part of the missions of the West Africa Center of Excellence for Data Science Research Education (1UE5TW012526-01) which is a joint program of the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB) Mali, Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry Guinea and Tualane Universty of the USA funded by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health of the United States of America (NIH ). This involves forming interdisciplinary teams across African research institutions on the use of innovative quantitative and analytical approaches, in order to generate evidence based on local research data.

Communication officer UCRC and ACE-B