For the first time ever, BOSC will include two panels on important and timely topics.

Policies and Strategies for Resilient Open Science

As we gather in Washington, D.C. for BOSC 2026, we stand at the literal and figurative crossroads of the policies that dictate the pulse of our field. For years, the open science community has operated under a steady wind of progress, but the past year has shifted the weather. We have moved from an era of “open by default” to an environment where the infrastructure of open science—funding, federal data repositories, and international collaborations—is increasingly under scrutiny. This panel moves beyond theoretical support for open science to focus on the strategies of resilience and active advocacy required to navigate a landscape that is being rapidly redefined.

The current climate in the United States has seen federal agencies, which are the traditional engines of open research, reorienting under new mandates that prioritize “national interest” and “operational efficiency.” While these shifts have created uncertainty, they have also demonstrated the power of the community; despite early threats of deep cuts, concerted advocacy has kept certain key research budgets remarkably stable. Resilience, therefore, is not just about surviving these shifts; it is about building a proactive presence in the rooms where these decisions are made. We will explore how these domestic tensions mirror global trends, from the rise of protectionist data policies to the decentralized alternatives emerging in the wake of federal volatility.

Our discussion will range from high-level policy to the practical “how-to” of remaining principled and productive, addressing topics that include: the Advantage of Advocacy, Navigating Funding Fragility, Protecting the Digital Commons, and Institutional Fortification.

Panelists

To be named

MODERATOR: Mónica Muñoz Torres

Dr. Muñoz Torres is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz. Her work focuses on the critical challenge of developing the socio-technical foundations needed to realize the promise of artificial intelligence in biomedical sciences. Her expertise includes genomics, biocuration, knowledge representation, and data harmonization. She leads the NIH-funded Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI)’s teams focused on Standards, Practices, and Quality Assessment. She is also Co-Lead of the Clinical & Phenotypic Data Capture Work Stream of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH).

Open Source in the Age of AI

Open-source software has been a key part of the bioinformatics landscape for decades, enabling large-scale collaboration and supporting reproducible science. The emergence of generative AI represents a fundamental shift in how code is authored, maintained, and shared. This panel will examine the “elephant in the room”: is generative AI a powerful advantage for open-source communities, or a threat to their long-term health, or both? We will explore how AI tools—which can generate thousands of lines of code in seconds—challenge our notions of contribution, reuse, and the value of human-authored frameworks.

While AI makes it easier than ever to code solutions from scratch, it raises critical questions about the sustainability of existing projects and the scientific accuracy of machine-generated results. As the difficult part of software development shifts from writing code to verifying it for scientific integrity, our communities and the way they operate must evolve. From assessing pull requests submitted by AI agents to debating the merits of bans on AI-generated submissions, the open-source community is at a crossroads in defining how humans and AI agents can best work together.

This panel will bring together a variety of perspectives to discuss topics including: Reuse, Attribution and Accountability, Licensing, Sustainability, and the Future of Open Data.

Panelists

To be named

MODERATOR: Jason Williams

Jason Williams is Assistant Director of Cold Spring Harbor’s Dolan DNA Learning Center. He was elected an AAAS Fellow in 2026. In 2025, he won the Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence in Education! Williams has been instrumental in helping to bring the latest technologies and teaching approaches for working with DNA into classrooms around the world through dedicated hands-on programs for students and teachers. He develops national biology education programs and leads education, outreach, and training for CyVerse, the U.S. national cyberinfrastructure for life sciences. In addition to his work at the DNALC, Williams is the founder of LifeSciTrainers.org, a global initiative promoting a community of practice among professionals who develop short-format training for life scientists. He is also the Lead Investigator of the Arecibo Center for Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Science Education, Computational Skills, and Community Engagement.