Modern biological research generates vast amounts of data that require complex computational workflows to process efficiently and reproducibly. As data volumes continue to grow, so does the demand for computing infrastructure to process them. Deploying these workflows in the cloud is becoming increasingly common. This webinar will introduce the fundamental concepts of cloud deployment for Nextflow pipelines and demonstrate the steps required for setting up a fully functional pipeline in the cloud.

We will begin by describing the purpose of Workflow Management Systems (such as Nextflow) and why they have become indispensable in modern computational biology. The session will cover both the benefits and potential limitations of cloud-based workflow execution, helping you understand when and why to leverage cloud resources for your computational workloads.

We will use the "Biome-specific Shallow-shotgun Inference of Functional Traits through Read-mapping" (BioSIFTR) pipeline as our case study. This pipeline, developed by the Microbiome Informatics team at EMBL-EBI as part of the Finding Pheno project, serves as an excellent example of a complex computational workflow on a public cloud platform using Nextflow.

Who is this course for?

This webinar is designed for bioinformaticians, pipeline developers and users with a basic understanding of cloud computing concepts and Workflow Management systems. Throughout the session, you will learn how to configure a Nextflow pipeline, set up the necessary cloud infrastructure, and execute the BioSIFTR pipeline in the cloud.

Outcomes

By the end of this webinar, you will be able to:

• Discuss the role and importance of Workflow Management Systems in modern computational biology
• Deploy a Nextflow pipeline on a public cloud platform
• Apply these skills and concepts to deploy your own Nextflow pipelines across different domains

DOI: 10.6019/TOL.NextflowCloud-w.2025.00001.1

This webinar took place on 30 July 2025. Please click the 'Watch video' button to view the recording.