I have been working as an Outreachy intern in the Ersilia community since June 30th, 2022. When I read about Ersilia's main goal, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
In this post, I will be telling you about the wonderful open-source project that is Ersilia.
What is Ersilia?
Ersilia is a tech non-profit organisation aimed at equipping universities, hospitals and laboratories in low-resourced settings with data science and machine learning tools for infectious and neglected disease research. More information is on the Ersilia website
You see, low-income countries are not exactly equipped to research the infectious diseases that plague them and high-income countries can only do so much. This is where Ersilia comes in.
There are data science and machine learning models available in the Ersilia Model Hub that calculate, predict, describe etc. input thereby reducing the cost of developing new drugs. The researchers don't need to be experienced coders to use the models.
What is Ersilia's approach?
As stated earlier, trained models are present and also being added to the Ersilia Model Hub which makes life significantly better for researchers. Moreover, the code and tools are also free and open-source to make knowledge available to all.
Why I love Ersilia
- It is an open-source project. It goes to show that the organisation values transparency and community.
- It is inclusive. I am a Nigerian and I haven't felt intimidated in any way while being a contributor at Ersilia. Its community is truly a safe space.
- Its goals align with two of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are Quality education and Good health and well-being. Ersilia helps train researchers to implement the tools it offers and it helps make drug discovery easier and less expensive.
Conclusion
Being a part of Ersilia is being a part of the bigger picture. You know you're part of a project that is ultimately saving lives, literally and is impacting knowledge as well.
I'm glad I get to be a part of what Ersilia is doing.