Starting: 27 January 2020

The course is aimed at anyone teaching or supporting teaching in bioscience at Higher Education, from early career to experienced lecturers, interested in embedding relevant technology in their practice to improve students’ learning. The course will be informed by evidence and will include case studies and online discussions among participants, who will be encouraged to share their experiences.

Topics include using e-portfolios for evidencing professional practice and approaches to enhance assessment and feedback.

Discussions among participants and with lead educators will be central to the course, and delegates will have the opportunity to share their experiences by posting case studies outlining how they use technology in their teaching and what works best for them.

Completing this course will help colleagues working towards various levels of fellowship of the HEA.

24 February 2020

FREE for members

To communicate beyond the lab requires a different set of skills. In this online course ‘Introduction to Public Engagement and Science Policy’, we will explore how the molecular biosciences can contribute to UK policy, and share tools that can be used to engage the public effectively.

This course is ideal for early to late career bioscientists who wish to learn more about science policy and public engagement. Each module will be around 2 hours.

The course modules will cover:

• Introduction to science communication
• Science in policy-making – a guide to the UK landscape
• Public engagement activities
• Evaluation of impact

You will have access to the module for one year, and lead educators will reply to your comments in the first 6 weeks, so you’re encouraged to complete the course during this time.

R for Biochemists 101 aims to equip early career researchers with the information, tools and techniques to use R. It is suited to beginners that want to use the programming software but have little or no experience.

The course will focus on getting data in R, manipulating and visualizing them using various methods. Each module will use a biochemical experiment and data as a starting point.

The course is divided in 5 modules:

• Draw a protein standard curve using base R and ggplot2
• Extracting data from objects
• Drawing an enzyme kinetics plot
• Customizing and reusing plots with R
• Getting your data into R for exploration

The estimated time of completion for each module is one hour, however participants will be able to learn at their own pace and will benefit from the interaction with the course lead educator and other fellow participants. Dr Paul Brennan will reply to your comments and queries for six weeks. After this time, you’ll be able to still access the course, but the interaction with the course leader won’t be available.

A BIOCHEMICAL SOCIETY AND FEBS JOINT EVENT

This two-day event is aimed at anyone teaching in higher education in the molecular biosciences, from early career lecturers to established professors. The course aims to share best practice and novel ideas with higher educators, to equip students with the skills they need to succeed in their careers. The event will comprise of lectures, group discussions and poster presentations from attendees. ‘Evolving molecular bioscience education’ is supported by Heads of University Biosciences (HUBS).

Topics include:

• Developing skills within a bioscience curriculum
• Students as co-producers
• Assessment and feedback
• Education research across Europe
• Teaching approaches

Attending this event will help colleagues working towards various levels of fellowship of the HEA. Being a delegate and participating in the event is evidence of the A5 and V3 dimensions of the UKPSF. In addition, there will be many ideas shared that, if implemented by delegates, could contribute to a number of the other dimensions.

The purpose of this training event is to familiarise participants with approaches and computational programmes to generate 3D models of proteins where no structural data is available. Additionally, an introduction to molecular docking will be given. An emphasis will be placed on critically evaluating the usefulness of models and modelling in general for solving scientific problems.

This hands-on course is aimed at early career scientists, such as PhD students and PostDocs, and established scientists who are interested in applying computational approaches to their research in the fields of protein science, molecular health, medicinal chemistry and structural biology.

This three-day training event for early career researchers will focus on the function on biological membranes and on the biophysical techniques available to study their components in the context of biology and biotechnology. The event will comprise lectures, computer and laboratory-based practical sessions. Participants will leave the event with new knowledge and protocols that will allow them to use biophysical techniques for studying components of biological membranes in their research.

Topics include:

• High throughput membrane protein expression
• Solubilisation strategies
• Membrane protein purification
• Structural determination via circular dichroism, crystallography and EM
• Lipid nanoparticles and their analysis.
• Lipidomics via mass spectroscopy
• Biophysical analyses including NMR and neutron scattering.

This training event will be followed by the ‘European SMALP meeting 2020’.

The application of styrene-maleic acid (SMA) co-polymers to extract small discs of membrane, termed SMA lipid particles (SMALPs), has changed the established landscape of research in biological membranes. Membrane proteins play a vital role in cellular communication and the control of transport  across the membrane, making them key therapeutic targets for many human diseases. Their location within the membrane, tightly packed with so many different proteins and lipids has, until now, made them extremely challenging to study. By allowing membrane proteins to be purified and studied whilst maintaining their lipid environment, the SMALP methodology enables the study of membrane protein structure and function using techniques that were previously impractical.

New applications of SMALPs are rapidly emerging making membrane protein study more accessible and widespread. This meeting will explore the latest developments within the field, including novel polymers, techniques and targets, bringing together a wide range of researchers to share their findings.

From bacteria to eukaryotes, cells have evolved a remarkable battery of enzymes to deal with the mechanical and topological challenges presented by nucleic acid production, processing and maintenance. A clear view of the biology of the genetic material requires a molecular understanding of how these enzymes function. Such an understanding will enhance our ability to manipulate genome structure and gene expression.

The theme of this meeting revolves around the mechanisms of these enzymes, with particular emphasis on research that integrates structural, biochemical, biophysical and computational approaches. With recent technological advances in imaging (i.e., single-molecule and cryo-electron microscopies), we expect to witness a flourish of key biological systems to be characterised with unprecedented detail.

The meeting will cover many of the molecular mechanisms by which large macromolecular machines carry out a diverse range of nucleic acid processes including DNA replication and repair, gene transcription and regulation, RNA processing and splicing, translation, nucleic acids structures and chromatin structure and epigenetic mechanisms. The meeting will also explore new quantitative techniques as well as theoretical approaches.

Sponsored by

Collaborating societies

This joint meeting with the Biochemical Society and Society Medicines Research will focus on current trends of drug discovery and brings together academic and industry-based scientists from various disciplines to discuss some of the modern challenges encountered in drug discovery as well as potential solutions to tackle them.

Current trends in drug discovery provides a rare opportunity for scientists to hear about drug discovery disciplines outside of their own experience and to get a broader understanding of where their work fits in drug discovery.

Mutations in Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common genetic cause of Parkinson’s disease, responsible for up to 2-3% of all cases in the UK and up to 40% in some populations. Coupled with its clear genetic links to PD, LRRK2’s status as a complex, multi-domain kinase has led to this protein being flagged as one of the most promising drug targets for Parkinson’s disease.

This is a field that is exponentially attracting the interest of a considerable number of internationally competitive investigators, both from academia and the pharmaceutical industry, witnessing major advances in our understanding of the function of LRRK2 and its role in human disease.

Small G proteins of the Ras superfamily regulate a plethora of cell signalling pathways and impact on most biological processes. Deregulation of these proteins and their pathways often results in disease, such as cancer and genetic disorders, and plays a role in infection by pathogenic organisms.

This conference will gather renowned experts to discuss research covering all five families of small G proteins, to highlight recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of small G protein function, and to generate new ideas, collaborations and scientific strategies from diverse inputs. This will include the Ras family, involved in cell growth, the Rho family, which drive cytoskeletal rearrangements, the Arf and Rab families, which play a role in vesicle trafficking and Ran, which is responsible for nuclear transport.

Without a template, the biosynthesis of glycans heavily relies on the organisation of enzymes in the Golgi apparatus. In addition, glycan functions often feedback on important basic cell biological processes such as membrane trafficking and signalling. Therefore, understanding the interfaces between intracellular organisation and glycobiology is crucial to provide new tools and understanding for the functional investigation of glycans.

This scientific meeting will bring together glycoscientists with cell biologists to foster new ideas and collaborations between both disciplines. A range of topics from traditional cell and glycobiology through analytics and synthetic carbohydrate chemistry all the way to systems level studies will be explored at the event to encourage more joined-up thinking.

Single-molecule imaging has revolutionized our ability to study molecular processes underlying bacterial function. New fluorescent proteins and dyes, ultrasensitive microscopy, and image-analysis software have helped visualize reactions, interactions and motions inside single bacteria. In a sense, we are “re-discovering” bacteria with a new set of eyes.

The agenda of this interdisciplinary meeting will showcase exciting developments in this young field. This will include structural/mechanistic studies using super-resolution imaging and single-molecule microscopy, new quantitative in vivo techniques applicable to bacteria, complementary theoretical modelling approaches, and studies of clinical/commercial significance.

This topic is the theme of the 87th Harden Conference, an event series unique to the Biochemical Society, providing residential research conferences covering a specialist topic. These events are widely recognised for their emphasis on free and open discussion to encourage the exchange of the latest data and a critical discussion of the technical challenges that these developments face.

Thiol redox reactions are implicated in a diverse range of physiological processes and are often dysregulated in human pathologies such as cancer, neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders. Low-molecular-weight (LMW) thiols play an essential role in maintaining the cellular redox homeostasis and exert important functions in cell growth, metabolism and detoxification pathways.

In the last decade, there have been significant advances in our understanding of redox biology, facilitated by the development of cutting-edge omics technologies and specific research tools. This conference will be one of the first to focus on the versatile family of LMW thiols, which comprises structurally diverse and evolutionarily unrelated molecules.

The programme will give attendees the chance to learn about the most recent advances on the role of LMW thiols in redox regulation and signalling from leading experts in the field, and networking opportunities will encourage new collaborative interactions between participants.