I am software engineer with some data science and evolutionary algorithms background. I have heard about the foldit challenge to help covid19, but I am not sure about it's impact. I have never learned bio related data science, but I'd like to learn the basics to understand the problem. What tools / methods / materials are available to an "average" programmer to start with to help this new virus?
What makes covid 19 suddenly interesting or different in terms of tools required than any other virus?
The best answer you can probably get by researching which research institutes usually deal with developing methods for diagnosis, select a smaller one (e.g. from a local University) then find the contact details of a researcher (PhD student) and phone or mail them and ask if they'd have time to have a 1-on-1 chat with you. In my experience, they are likely to be interested to look for common ground and approachable problems with people who can contribute something they cannot.
The best answer you can probably get by researching which research institutes usually deal with developing methods for diagnosis, select a smaller one (e.g. from a local University) then find the contact details of a researcher (PhD student) and phone or mail them and ask if they'd have time to have a 1-on-1 chat with you. In my experience, they are likely to be interested to look for common ground and approachable problems with people who can contribute something they cannot.