Date: 25  March (Introduction) and 28 March – 1 April 2022
Venue: Virtual course
Application deadline: 9 January
Notification date: 28 January 
Participation: Open application with a selection (30 applicants will be selected for the course)
Registration fee: 50 Euros (to be paid after the selection process)
Contact: euprojects@ebi.ac.uk

We highly encourage applications from women and underrepresented groups.

We recognise that participants may occasionally be unable to meet their financial obligations to us for registration fees. If you have been selected for the course and are experiencing financial hardship, problems with obtaining funding, or unsure about how you will pay for fees please talk to us. You can contact Michelle Mendonca at mmendonca@ebi.ac.uk.

– Applications are now closed –

The school will include lectures and hands-on sessions on the following topics:
  • Molecular Dynamics simulations
  • Biomolecular Docking
  • Free energy calculations
  • Advanced sampling methods (Metadynamics)
  • BioExcel Building Blocks (BioBB)
  • Quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM)
During the hands-on computer practicals you will make use of the BioExcel flagship software and tools: e.g. GROMACS, HADDOCK, PMX, BioBB, and CP2K. The trainers, developers and/or experts in the use of the software, will provide guidance and support.

Audience and Prerequisites

The BioExcel school is intended for primarily PhD and post-doctoral researchers using or planning to use biomolecular modeling and simulation in their everyday research. Familiarity with Linux and basic knowledge of molecular modelling software is a requirement.

To apply you will need the following information:
  • Support letter from your supervisor or a senior co-worker explaining why you should be selected for this course (in word or pdf format)
  • Research Abstract (limit: 250 words – you will be able to present and discuss your research during the course)
Once you have these ready, please complete the application process by midnight (CET) on Sunday 9 January. Incomplete applications will not be considered. All applicants will be informed of the status of their application (successful, waiting list, rejected) by Friday 28 January. If you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact Michelle Mendonca.

Tips for a good application

1) During the selection process we focus on:

  • Do you have the pre-requisite knowledge?
  • Will your research and research group benefit from what you learn in this course?
So, please pay special attention to the following 3 questions on the application form:
  • Describe your research interests
  • Describe how this course will benefit your own research
  • Describe how this course will benefit the research of your group
2) You are asked to add an abstract about your research to be presented during the BioExcel school. If you do not have any results yet, you can write your abstract as a short introduction to the topic and a working plan.
This course is designed to ensure full-time participation with flexibility for time zones differences and childcare requirements. This can be discussed with the course coordinator prior to the course to formalise alternative arrangements. We are also organising a career session on Day 4 of the course featuring talks and networking opportunities with professionals from academia and industry.

Note: The programme is subject to minor changes

Time (CET) Topic Format Trainer
Introduction - Friday 25 March
13:00 - 13:20  Course introduction Live Marta Lloret Llinares and Alexandre Bonvin
13:20 - 13:40  BioExcel introduction Live Alexandre Bonvin
13:40 - 15:30 Participant presentations (in blocks of 20 mins with breaks of 10 mins in between) Live  
Time (CEST) Topic Format Trainer
Day 1 - Monday 28 March
09:00 - 09:45 Docking basics  Pre-recorded lecture 1 Alexandre Bonvin
09:45 - 10:30 Docking basics  Pre-recorded lecture 2 Alexandre Bonvin
10:30 - 10:55 Q&A Live Alexandre Bonvin
11:00 - 11:30 Virtual Coffee and Tea Break
11:30 - 13:30 Tutorial - HADDOCK  Live support Alexandre Bonvin
13:30 - 14:30 Break    
14:30 - 15:10 BioExcel building blocks (BioBB) Pre-recorded lecture Adam Hospital
15:20 - 16:00 Computational biomolecular simulation workflows using BioBB  Pre-recorded lecture Adam Hospital
16:10 - 17:00 Course social event    
Time (CEST) Topic Format Trainer
Day 2 - Tuesday 29 March
09:00 - 09:40 Basis of molecular dynamics simulations Pre-recorded lecture 1 Alessandra Villa
09:50 - 10:30 Basis of molecular dynamics simulations Pre-recorded lecture 2 Alessandra Villa
10:30 - 10:55 Q&A Live Alessandra Villa
11:00 - 11:30 Virtual coffee & tea break
11:30 - 13:00 Tutorial - A guide to perform MD simulation with GROMACS Live Alessandra Villa, Paul Bauer & Berk Hess
13:00 - 14:00 Break
14:00 - 16:00 Tutorial - Protein-Complex MD Setup with Jupyter Notebooks and BioBB, Includes Q&A for BioBB lectures Live Adam Hospital
Time (CEST) Topic Format Trainer
Day 3 - Wednesday 30 March
09:00 - 09:40 Introduction to QM/MM Pre-recorded lecture 1 Emiliano Ippoliti
09:50 - 10:20 Introduction to QM/MM Pre-recorded lecture 2 Emiliano Ippoliti
10:20 - 10:45 Q&A Live Emiliano Ippoliti
10:50 - 11:30 Virtual coffee & tea break
11:30 - 13:30 Tutorial - Introduction to QM/MM simulations Live Dmitry Morozov
13:30 - 14:30 Break
14:30 - 14:50 Short talk 1 Pre-recorded lecture TBC
14:50 - 15:10 Q&A Live
15:20 - 17:00 Poster session  
Time (CEST) Topic Format Trainer
Day 4 - Thursday 31 March
09:00 - 09:45 Modeling molecular recognition through enhanced-sampling methods  Pre-recorded lecture 1 Attilio Vargiu
09:50 - 10:30 Modeling molecular recognition through enhanced-sampling methods Pre-recorded lecture 2 Attilio Vargiu
10:30 - 10:55 Q&A Live Attilio Vargiu, Giuliano Malloci & Andrea Basciu
11:00 - 11:30 Virtual coffee & tea break
11:30 - 13:30 Metadynamics tutorial - Guided introduction Work on your own with live support Andrea Basciu, Giuliano Malloci & Attilio Vargiu
13:30 - 14:30 Break
14:30 - 15:30 Round table about career options Live
15:40 - 17:00 Poster & networking session Live
Time (CEST) Topic Format Trainer
Day 5 - Friday 1 April
09:00 - 09:45 Introduction to free energy calculations  Pre-recorded lecture  Bert de Groot
09:55 - 10:30 Applications of alchemical free energy calculations Pre-recorded lecture  Vytautas Gapsys
10:30 - 10:55 Q&A Live Bert de Groot & Vytautas Gapsys
11:00 - 11:30 Virtual coffee & tea break
11:30 - 13:30 Tutorial - PMX Live Bert de Groot & Vytautas Gapsys
13:30 - 14:30 Break
14:30 - 14:50 Short talk 2 Pre-recorded lecture TBC
14:50 - 15:10 Short talk 3 Pre-recorded lecture TBC
15:10 - 15:40 Q&A
15:45 - 16:10 Final questions, remarks and feedback Live

The lectures and hands-on sessions will be given by internationally recognised leaders in the field of computational biomolecular research.

Speakers

  • Alexandre Bonvin, BioExcel (University of Utrecht)
  • Alessandra Villa, BioExcel (KTH)
  • Christian Blau, BioExcel (KTH)
  • Adam Hospital, BioExcel (IRB Barcelona)
  • Emiliano Ippoliti, BioExcel (FZ Jülich)
  • Bert de Groot, BioExcel (Max Planck Institute)
  • Vytautas Gapsys, BioExcel (Max Planck Institute)
  • Giuliano Malloci, University of Cagliari
  • Attilio Vittorio Vargiu, University of Cagliari
  • Andrea Basciu, University of Cagliari
Organisers
  • Vera Matser, BioExcel (EMBL-EBI)
  • Marta Lloret Llinares, BioExcel (EMBL-EBI)
  • Alexandre Bonvin, BioExcel (University of Utrecht)
  • Attilio Vittorio Vargiu, University of Cagliari
  • Giuliano Malloci, University of Cagliari

About the author