A guide to the commonly used methods and tools in structural bioinformatics to analyse and interpret experimentally determined and AI-predicted macromolecular structure data.

Structural biology, determining the three-dimensional shapes of biomacromolecules and their complexes, can tell us a lot about how these molecules function and the roles they play within a cell. Data derived from structure determination experiments and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted structure prediction enables life-science researchers to address a wide variety of questions.  

This virtual course explores bioinformatics data resources and tools for the investigation, analysis, and interpretation of both experimentally determined and predicted biomacromolecular structures. It will focus on how best to analyse and interpret available structural data to gain useful information given specific research contexts. The course content will also cover predicting function, and exploring interactions with other macromolecules.

This course will be a virtual event delivered via a mixture of live-streamed sessions, pre-recorded lectures, and tutorials with live support. We will be using Zoom to run the live sessions (all fully password protected with automated English closed captioning and transcription) with support and both scientific and social networking opportunities provided by Slack and other methods, taking different time zones into account. In order to make the most out of the course, you should make sure to have a stable internet connection throughout the week and are available between 09:00-18:00 UTC-0 each day. In the week before the course there will be a brief induction session. Computational practicals will run on EMBL-EBI's virtual training infrastructure, meaning participants will not require access to a powerful computer or install complex software on their own machines.

Selected participants may be sent materials prior to the course. These might include pre-recorded talks and required reading or online training that will be essential to fully engage with the course.