Instruct.SI consortium is kindly inviting to a three-day workshop “Basics of Methodological Approaches in Structural Biology”, where atendees will be able to obtain or refresh basic knowledge on high-resolution structural biology approaches: macromolecular crystallography (MX), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM).
The workshop will be held from 5th to 7th November 2024 at the National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, Ljubljana, as the main workshop location.
Students and researchers, interested in structural biology—you are kindly invited!
More info is available below and in the official announcements:
- 1st announcement, published on 2024-09-17 (English and Slovene version)
- 2nd announcement including a detailed programme, published on 2024-10-08 (English and Slovene version)
Basic info and registration
- Registration is obligatory. You can register for all three main topics/days or just for one or two days.
- Deadline for registration is Thursday, October 24th, 2024!
- There is no fee! All costs are covered by the Instruct.SI consortium.
- There will be free coffee/tea and free lunches, plus a get-together on the last day of the workshop.
- The official language of the workshop will be English.
For any further information etc. please do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail.
Please note: Follow the communication channels (this website (most up-to-date), plus mailing list of Slovenian Biochemical Society, X social network profile of National Institute of Chemistry, and others) for any updates and further announcements.
Programme
Day 1 (Tue, Nov 5): Macromolecular Crystallography (MX)
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9.00–9.15 | Welcome & general info |
| 9.15–9.45 | Introduction to macromolecular crystallography |
| 9.45–10.15 | Target selection and construct design |
| 10.15–10.45 | coffee break |
| 10.45–11.30 | Protein production and purification |
| 11.30–12.00 | Characterization of macromolecular samples |
| 12.00–13.00 | lunch break |
| 13.00–13.45 | Crystallization, crystal harvesting, and preparation for data collection |
| 13.45–14.15 | Diffraction data collection and processing |
| 14.15–14.30 | coffee break |
| 14.30–15.30 | Hands-on: Introduction to structure model building and refinement (see note below) |
| 15.30–15.35 | survey |
| 15.35–15.55 | walk to IJS |
| 15.55–16.55 | Tour: Crystallization robot and chamber, in-house X-ray machine (IJS) |
Day 2 (Wed, Nov 6): Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9.00–9.15 | Welcome & general info |
| 9.15–9.45 | The basics of NMR |
| 9.45–10.15 | Introduction to 1D and 2D NMR spectra |
| 10.15–10.30 | coffee break |
| 10.30–11.00 | Production of DNA/RNA and protein molecules suitable for NMR structural characterization |
| 11.00–11.40 | Strategies for assigment of DNA/RNA NMR spectra |
| 11.40–12.20 | Strategies for assignment of protein NMR spectra |
| 12.20–13.20 | lunch break |
| 13.20–14.05 | Tour: NMR spectrometers and laboratories (KI) |
| 14.05–14.35 | NMR’s time to shine: dynamics and conformational changes of molecules |
| 14.35–15.05 | High-resolution structures of biomolecules constructed from NMR derived structural restraints |
| 15.05–15.20 | coffee break |
| 15.20–16.50 | Hands-on: NMR spectra recording demonstration and evaluating ligand-protein/DNA/RNA interactions (see note below) |
| 16.50–16.55 | survey |
Day 3 (Thu, Nov 7): Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM)
| Time | Topic |
|---|---|
| 9.00–9.15 | Welcome & general info |
| 9.15–10.05 | Transmission electron microscopy – a look into structure from molecules to tissues |
| 10.05–10.30 | coffee break |
| 10.30–12.00 | Cryo-electron microscopy |
| 12.00–13.00 | lunch break |
| 13.00–14.30 | Tour and hands-on: sample preparation laboratories, vitrification laboratory, cryo-electron microscope (see note below) |
| 14.30–15.00 | coffee break |
| 15.00–16.15 | Data analysis, structure determination I |
| 16.15–16.25 | break |
| 16.25–17.30 | Data analysis, structure determination II |
| 17.30–17.35 | survey |
| 17.35– | get-together |
Note: To follow the hands-on sections, please bring your own laptop, mouse is recommended. Wireless internet connection will be provided.
Organisers
Workshop is organised by the Instruct.SI consortium and co-workers from the following member institutions:
- National Institute of Chemistry (KI/NIC), Ljubljana
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology (UL FKKT), Ljubljana
- University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty (UL BF), Ljubljana
- Centre of Excellence for Integrated Approaches in Chemistry and Biology of Proteins (CIPKeBiP), Ljubljana
- Jožef Stefan Institute (IJS/JSI), Ljubljana
Organisers thank to the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS) and Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of Republic of Slovenia, for financial support.