Unlocking the full potential of proteins for medical and industrial applications relies on optimization of properties like thermostability, catalytic activity, and stereoselectivity through protein engineering. Recent work has emphasized the value of a semi-rational approach to protein engineering that combines existing knowledge of protein structure and function with the power of library screening and selection to evaluate large numbers of protein variants. The advent of sophisticated new computational tools and the ever-increasing availability of structural and sequence information have made this strategy increasingly powerful over recent years.
The aim of this symposium is to equip PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in the field of protein engineering with a broad knowledge of computational tools and experimental techniques available for library design and creation. The symposium will focus on cutting-edge techniques for library design, such as machine learning and computational design, as well as new applications of phylogenetic methods (e.g., ancestral protein reconstruction) and computational chemistry.
Speakers:
Ryoichi Arai
Shinshu University
(Japan),
Mikael Boden
University of Queensland (Australia)
Elizabeth Gillam
University of Queensland (Australia),
Sagar Khare
Rutgers University (USA),
Dan Thomas Major
Bar-Ilan University (Israel),
Joelle Pelletier
University of Montreal (Canada) ,
Jose Sanchez-Ruiz
University of Granada (Spain),
Tuck Seng Wong
Sheffield University (UK),
Kam Zhang
Riken for Biosystems Dynamics Research (Japan)
Hosted by Laurino Lab and OISTedu
In the past few decades protein engineering allowed to create artificial
enzymes with great potential in medicine, biotechnology and other
fields. In this symposium we will particularly focus on the study and
engineering of proteins but also look at their evolution, namely the
history of these proteins paving the way to unravel their mechanism.
Different aspects of proteins will be discussed from a structural,
biochemical, biophysical and bioinformatics prospective.
The symposium
will cover a broad range of expertise to allow a deep understanding of
the mechanism and function of proteins but also on how to engineer and
design them for new purposes. Overall, the main aim of this symposium
will be to develop a strong network among the participants where
especially young researchers can benefit.