From a new user to training community contributor
Creators: name: Jakiela, Julia
name: Bacon, Wendi
Publisher: name: F1000 Research Limited
Year: 2023

description: Galaxy is a blessing for biomedical scientists performing complex analysis sans programming skills. But what actually happens behind the scenes? Is it at all possible to break through this secret wall between a ‘normal’ user and a developer? In fact, anyone can contribute to Galaxy’s development and improvement. Here is the story of a newcomer who started exploring the community, ending up as an enthusiastic tutorial developer.<br> <br> The first step into the Galaxy world often starts with data to analyse. In my case, I wanted to perform trajectory analysis of single cell RNA sequencing data. I started engaging with the Galaxy interface by completing the introductory tutorials and getting familiar with possible options and available tools. There are many different approaches used for analyses, with different institutes and labs choosing different toolkits. I wondered if it would be possible to recreate the current tutorials in different programming languages, to meet the users’ needs. As a coding enthusiast, I was thrilled to perform the whole new analysis in a code editor and then build a workflow from scratch based on tools available in Galaxy. This approach allowed for quick, easy and reproducible analysis. To make it accessible for others, including those who prefer ‘buttons’ than lines of code, I thoroughly described the whole process, creating a tutorial in this way. As a newcomer myself, I could look at the material I was designing from the learner point of view. What significantly helped me was the GTN’s excellent tutorials on how to contribute to Galaxy, with the advice on including engaging snippets, learner-friendly detailed explanations, and questions developing critical thinking. I faced numerous complications on this journey, but I was able to discuss them with the open and inclusive Galaxy community on Gitter, Github and Slack or even personally with tool developers or specialised biologists. Also, some of the chosen analysis approaches didn’t work well and I had to come up with other solutions, most optimal for the users. What kept me on track was the passion and motivation I got from people already working in the field. This combination of inclusive community, clear user needs, and discrete sense of accomplishment was so fulfilling, that I couldn’t stop with Galaxy. I built another tutorial, this time using the interactive R environment to meet the needs of users who would like to gain more programming experience. I believe that the constant exchange of knowledge is needed to ensure the development of science. Therefore, I was really excited to deliver training for the European Bioinformatics Institute based on the tutorial I developed and share my passion with others. Now, every time when I’m joining a new bioinformatics project, I am proudly suggesting Galaxy as a powerful platform for data analysis, taking the researcher through each method step-by-step. <br> <br> Based on this narrative, the strengths of Galaxy can be demonstrated, as well as the supportive power of its community, which significantly helps in stepping into the bioinformatics world and crossing the user-developer border.