About Codeathons
Encouraging Diversity in Coding
Codeathons are a great way to engage underrepresented communities and increase their participation in coding. The National Library of Medicine held the first-ever women-led codeathon in 2019.
A codeathon is a 2-3 day event that brings researchers and coders together to build tools and perform analysis with the biomedical community. Codeathons allow attendees from different communities to share their expertise and collaborate on solving real biomedical data challenges. At NIH, the National Library of Medicine’s National Center for Biotechnology Information has hosted more than 40 codeathons in partnership with universities, conferences, and other organizations across the country.
Codeathons at a Glance
Each codeathon has a different topical focus and scope. Events runs from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily with optional social activities throughout the event. Five to eight teams of 5-6 individuals with different backgrounds and expertise build pipelines and tools to analyze datasets under the guidance of an experienced leader. Throughout the event, teams come together to discuss progress on each topic, bioinformatics best practices, coding styles, and more.
Past Codeathons
