Ian Hunt-Isaak
I recently completed my PhD, during which I built software to manage the acquisition of combined epifluorescence and single-cell Raman spectroscopy time-lapse data. I extensively used Xarray and Zarr in both the data acquisition and analysis of this project. I have also presented multiple workshops on using Python for scientific data analysis and on using the SciPy stack (including Xarray) for microscopy data.
During graduate school, I discovered a passion for contributing to open-source scientific projects, which led me to my current role as a Xarray Community Developer at Earthmover. In this role, I am focused on improving Xarray for use cases in biological research.
Sessions
Xarray has enormous potential as a data model and toolkit for labeled N-D arrays in biology. Originally developed within the geosciences community, it is seeing increased usage in biology, with applications ranging from genomics to image analysis and beyond. However, it has not yet been widely adopted. This presentation will investigate what the blockers have been to wider adoption, showcase the power of Xarray in biology through existing use cases, and present a roadmap for the future of Xarray in biological workflows through recent and upcoming improvements in Xarray.