An Introduction to Machine Learning
Machine learning gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. It encompasses a broad range of approaches to data analysis with applicability across the biological sciences. Lectures will introduce commonly used algorithms and provide insight into their theoretical underpinnings. In the practicals students will apply these algorithms to real biological data-sets using the R language and environment.
Please be aware that the course syllabus is currently being updated following feedback from the last event; therefore the agenda below will be subjected to changes.
The training room is located on the first floor and there is currently no wheelchair or level access available to this level.
Please note that if you are not eligible for a University of Cambridge Raven account you will need to book or register your interest by linking here.
- This is aimed at life scientists with little or no experience in machine learning and that are looking at implementing these approaches in their research.
- Graduate students, Postdocs and Staff members from the University of Cambridge, Affiliated Institutions and other external Institutions or individuals
- Please be aware that these courses are only free for registered University of Cambridge students. All other participants will be charged a registration fee in some form. Registration fees and further details regarding the charging policy are available here.
- Further details regarding eligibility criteria are available here
- Familiarity with the R language is essential.
- We recommend either attending Introduction to R for biologists, or working through the materials of the now discontinued An Introduction to Solving Biological Problems with R prior to attending this course.
Number of sessions: 3
# | Date | Time | Venue | Trainers | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wed 19 Feb 2020 09:30 - 17:00 | 09:30 - 17:00 | Bioinformatics Training Room, Craik-Marshall Building | map | Yasin Memari (use Raven ym255), Dr Adi Steif, Dr Irina Mohorianu, Dr Manik Garg |
2 | Thu 20 Feb 2020 09:30 - 17:00 | 09:30 - 17:00 | Bioinformatics Training Room, Craik-Marshall Building | map | Dr Irina Mohorianu, Yasin Memari (use Raven ym255), Dr Manik Garg |
3 | Fri 21 Feb 2020 09:30 - 17:00 | 09:30 - 17:00 | Bioinformatics Training Room, Craik-Marshall Building | map | Christopher Penfold, Dr Adi Steif, Simon Koplev |
Bioinformatics, Data mining, Machine learning
During this course you will learn about:
- Some of the core mathematical concepts underpinning machine learning algorithms.
- Classification (supervised learning): partitioning data into training and test sets; feature selection; logistic regression; support vector machines; artificial neural networks; decision trees; nearest neighbours, cross-validation.
- Exploratory data analysis (unsupervised learning): dimensionality reduction, anomaly detection, clustering.
After this course you should be able to:
- Explain the concepts of machine learning.
- List the strengths and limitations of the various machine learning algorithms presented in this course.
- Select appropriate machine learning methods for your data.
- Perform machine learning in R.
Presentations, demonstrations and practicals
Day 1 | Topics |
09:30 - 10:30 | Machine learning and its applications in biomedical research |
10:30 - 11:30 | Data types and partitioning |
11:30 - 11:45 | Tea/Coffee Break |
11:45 - 12:45 | Introduction to CARET, an R-based machine learning framework |
12:45 - 13:30 | Lunch (not provided) |
13:30 - 15:00 | Dimensionality Reduction |
15:00 - 15:15 | Tea/Coffee Break |
15:15 - 16:45 | Clustering |
16:45 - 17:00 | Review and questions |
Day 2 | Topics |
09:30 - 11:00 | Nearest Neighbours |
11:00 - 11:15 | Tea/Coffee Break |
11:15 - 12:45 | Support Vector Machines |
12:45 - 13:30 | Lunch (not provided) |
13:30 - 15:00 | Decision Trees and Random Forests |
15:00 - 15:15 | Tea/Coffee Break |
15:15 - 16:45 | Use case applying the above methods |
16:45 - 17:00 | Review and questions |
Day 3 | |
9:30 – 11:00 | Linear models |
11:00 - 11:15 | Tea/Coffee Break |
11:15 - 12:45 | Linear and non linear logistic regression/ gaussian processes |
12:45 - 13:30 | Lunch (not provided) |
13:30 - 15:00 | Artificial Neural Networks |
15:00 - 15:15 | Tea/Coffee Break |
15:15 - 16:45 | Use case applying the above methods |
16:45 - 17:00 | Review, questions and resources for further study |
- Free for registered University of Cambridge students
- £ 50/day for all University of Cambridge staff, including postdocs, temporary visitors (students and researchers) and participants from Affiliated Institutions. Please note that these charges are recovered by us at the Institutional level
- It remains the participant's responsibility to acquire prior approval from the relevant group leader, line manager or budget holder to attend the course. It is requested that people booking only do so with the agreement of the relevant party as costs will be charged back to your Lab Head or Group Supervisor.
- £ 50/day for all other academic participants from external Institutions and charitable organizations. These charges must be paid at registration
- £ 100/day for all Industry participants. These charges must be paid at registration
- Further details regarding the charging policy are available here
3
2 times a year
Booking / availability