A vision for collaborative training infrastructure for bioinformatics.

In biology, a missing link connecting data generation and data-driven discovery is the training that prepares researchers to effectively manage and analyze data. National and international cyberinfrastructure along with evolving private sector resources place biologists and students within reach of the tools needed for data-intensive biology, but training is still required to make effective use of them. In this concept paper, we review a number of opportunities and challenges that can inform the creation of a national bioinformatics training infrastructure capable of servicing the large number of emerging and existing life scientists. While college curricula are slower to adapt, grassroots startup-spirited organizations, such as Software and Data Carpentry, have made impressive inroads in training on the best practices of software use, development, and data analysis. Given the transformative potential of biology and medicine as full-fledged data sciences, more support is needed to organize, amplify, and assess these efforts and their impacts.