Acknowledgements

I want to express my gratitude to my previous employer, Penn State University, for providing me with the opportunity to work as a computational scientist on the bushmeat microbiome project, under the supervision of Dr. Vivek Kapur. During my time there, my main responsibilities involved analyzing 16S rRNA gene sequencing data and developing bioinformatics resources.

After the conclusion of the project in 2018, I made a personal commitment to continue contributing to the microbiome research community. This led me to develop reproducible practical user guides that enable researchers to transform complex data into valuable biological insights.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to my children, Joe, Janeth, and Steve. Writing a book of this magnitude without financial support has been a challenging endeavor, and their unwavering support and love have been instrumental throughout this journey. I am forever grateful for the encouragement and support system they have provided me. My love for them knows no bounds.