Centre for Research Informatics Training
AI prompting for biologists
Event details
Sessions
- 23 September 2026 — 09:30 to 13:00 — Craik-Marshall
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About the course
As AI chatbots become more widely available, understanding how they work and how to prompt them effectively is increasingly important. This course provides background on the history of large language models and shows how prompt design can influence the quality and usefulness of the responses they generate.
The course takes a practical approach to using AI chatbots in biological data analysis. Participants explore how to prompt in a way that is useful for biologists and bioinformaticians, with hands-on examples that illustrate strategies and tactics for getting better results from AI tools. The teaching also considers why biology presents particular challenges for language models and how those limitations affect their use in research.
The course is aimed at researchers with no computational background and is designed to help them use generative AI more confidently in their work. Although no programming is used during the course, some examples may involve AI-generated code as a basis for in-class discussions.
Intended audience
This course is suitable for:
- life scientists who want to explore how AI chatbots can support data analysis
- participants who want practical guidance on prompting AI tools for biological research
- researchers looking to understand the opportunities and limitations of AI chatbots in bioinformatics
Prerequisites
No formal computational background is required.
The following experience is recommended:
- a basic familiarity with at least one programming language, such as R, Python or Bash, which will help when discussing AI-generated code
Course fees
All fees are per full training day.
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Industry full charge | £130.00 |
| Academic / Government / charity concessionary | £65.00 |
| Cambridge University staff members / postdocs / visitors | £65.00 |
| Cambridge University registered students | Free |
| Cambridge University registered students non-attendance | £22.00 |
| Special events | Per event |
Payment options will be provided in booking confirmation emails sent after registration.
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