Past Meetings

 

Project Summary

TEACH-SG aims to build on the successes of SPINE (Structural Proteomics IN Europe; FP5 Integrated project) and other FP6 structural genomics projects. It will provide a platform for training young scientists and those from smaller laboratories and new EU member states in state-of-the-art technologies developed in in structural genomics, particularly in high throughput techniques. A program of workshops and meetings will provide hands-on technical training in new methods and techniques in high throughput cloning, protein expression, characterisation, structural determination and bioinformatics data handling. The TEACH-SG team has developed key skills within the SPINE project. Partners from new EU member states will host training workshops to reach broad new audiences in Eastern Europe. read more...

Objectives of the project

The principal objective of TEACH-SG is to institute a program to train and educate the next generation of highly skilled biomedical and computational scientists in the methods and technologies of high throughput and high value structural proteomics, thereby producing a cadre of trained manpower that will feed into academia and industry within the EC.

Development of high volume and partly automated methods in protein structure determination is occuring at a very fast pace and there is a pressing need for scientists trained sufficiently to meet new technological challenges. The new technologies are rapidly being implemented in research laboratories across Europe and there is a rare window of opportunity to train scientists in the expertise which will become mandatory for high throughput programmes within the next 5 years.

Teach-SG will provide training in several formats

  • Practical workshops of 3-4 days duration on state of the art structural genomics/proteomics methodologies
  • Automation in cloning, protein expression, protein purification, crystallization
  • Automated image recognition
  • Protein expression systems (prokaryotic, eukaryotic, cell-free)
  • Computational crystallography methods
  • NMR methods
  • Bioinformatics
  • LIMS/PIMS and target tracking for proteins and protein complexes
  • Library methods of protein/domain optimization for structure determination
  • Mass spectrometry for protein characterization
  • Thermofluor technology
  • Scientific focus meetings
  • Web-based training information
  • European newsletter
  • Key note lectures

State of the art in high automated technologies in structural biology laboratories across Europe

Automated methods for protein structure determination are in operation in several laboratories across Europe, details are available from the sites below:

Reports

SPINE2-Complexes

SPINE2-Complexes is a European Commission - funded Integrated Project under the FP6 programme to determine the 3D structures of biologically important protein complexes (www.spine2.eu). The project is a follow-on to SPINE (www.spineurope.org) and is coordinated from the Division of Structural Biology.

Partners in Oxford and Strasbourg have researchers supported by the Marie Curie Training Programme

SPINE2-COMPLEXES and TEACH-SG cosponsor EMBO courses and workshops – www.embo.org