Workshops
3rd Conference Czech Hopes
Brno, Czech Republic, February 15-16, 2024
The conference aims to motivate high school students to be active, participate in competitions, olympiads, and various extracurricular activities, and show them the possibilities of such activities. The lectures are given by successful high school and university students who share their experiences. The workshops enable students to learn new skills from science, rhetoric, and journalism to business. Internship opportunities are presented during the conference.
FEBS Advanced Practical and Lecture Course on Computational Approaches to Understanding and Engineering Enzyme Catalysis
Zagreb, Croatia, September 25-29, 2023
The course is aimed at disseminating important in silico tools, such that experimental researchers, Ph.D. students, and young postdocs, can apply them in their research projects. The topics addressed in the course are covered by leading scientists. The computational expert speakers will give comprehensive lectures and demonstrations on how to use their web-based applications and software, whereas the experimental researchers will give lectures on how these in silico tools have successfully guided them towards finding answers related to their research in the field of enzyme catalysis. The aim of this advanced course is to bring together computational and experimental communities providing a valuable bridge between theory and experiment. The program provides opportunities for active interactions between all the participants through lectures, demonstrations, tutorials, discussions, as well as poster and oral presentations given by the student participants.
4th Hands-on Computational Enzyme Design Course
Brno, Czech Republic, May 29-June 1, 2023
The four-day interactive course provides the essential theory and hands-on experience on several web-based tools suitable for enzyme mining and engineering activity, specificity, enantioselectivity, stability, and solubility. It provides discussions with the developers of these tools regarding the optimal way to set up calculations and adequately interpret the results. Special time is devoted to the proteins of interest of the individual participants. At the end of this four-day course, the participants could independently design proteins for their academic research or commercial application. Covered software: Aggreprot, AlphaFill, AlphaFold, Caver, CaverDock, Caver Web, ChannelsDB, EnzymeMiner, ESMFold, FireProt, FireProtASR, FireProtDB, HotSpot Wizard, LoopGrafter, ProteinMPNN, RF Diffusion, Solubis, SoluProt and SoluProtMutDB. The 4th edition was held in hybrid mode and we had nearly 60 participants from 19 countries, also coming from academia (80%) and industry (20%), and we granted 2 scholarships.
3rd Hands-on Computational Enzyme Design Course
Brno, Czech Republic, May 30-June 1, 2022
The three-day interactive course provides the essential theory and hands-on experience on several web-based tools suitable for enzyme mining and engineering activity, specificity, enantioselectivity, stability, and solubility. It provides discussions with the developers of these tools regarding the optimal way to set up calculations and adequately interpret the results. Special time is devoted to the proteins of interest of the individual participants. At the end of this three-day course, the participants can independently design proteins for their academic research or commercial application. Covered software: EnzymeMiner, HotSpot Wizard, FireProt, FireProtASR, FireProtDB, CalFitter, Caver Web, CaverDock, LoopGrafter, Solubis and SoluProt. The course is primarily meant for protein and metabolic engineers with no prior experience in computer modeling and bioinformatics. The experts willing to broaden their current computational protein design toolbox will also benefit from this course. Doctoral students, postdocs, and staff members from both academia and companies are welcome.
Meeting information • Press release note
Summer School on Protein Engineering
Brno, Czech Republic, June 28-30, 2021
The Summer School on Protein Engineering is organized for secondary school and university students interested in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomedicine, and biotechnology. The program consists of theoretical introductory lectures and laboratory practicals. Students will learn the basics of protein design, construction, and characterization. Topics to be covered are: search in bioinformatics databases, computer design of biomolecules, construction of mutants using molecular biology techniques, and structural and biophysical determination of protein properties. Successful graduates will receive a certificate and study credits. (Bi9280).
2nd Hands-on Computational Enzyme Design Course
Brno, Czech Republic, May 3-4, 2021
The two-day interactive course provides the essential theory and hands-on experience on several web-based tools suitable for enzyme mining and engineering activity, specificity, enantioselectivity, stability, and solubility. It provides discussions with the developers of these tools regarding the optimal way to set up calculations and adequately interpret the results. Special time is devoted to the proteins of interest of the individual participants. At the end of this two-day course, the participants can independently design proteins for their academic research or commercial application. Covered software: AutoDock, Blast, Caver, Caver Analyst, CaverDock, CaverWeb, CalFitter, EnzymeMiner, FireProt, HotSpot Wizard, Rosetta, Solubis, SoluProt, Yasara, and VMD. The course is primarily meant for protein and metabolic engineers with no prior experience in computer modeling and bioinformatics. The experts willing to broaden their current computational protein design toolbox will also benefit from this course. Doctoral students, postdocs, and staff members from both academia and companies are welcome.
Meeting information • Press release note
ELIXIR CZ Artificial Intelligence in Life Sciences I
Prague, Czech Republic, October 26-27, 2020
This workshop will provide a basic introduction to machine learning and its application in Life Sciences, with a special focus on molecular and cell biology. Data-driven approaches penetrate various scientific disciplines, including the fields of biology, biochemistry, and biotechnology. Novel technologies of high-throughput data collection and advanced data analysis, such as deep neural networks, offer exceptional opportunities for the development of very complex and accurate mathematical models. The theoretical lectures will cover the main methods, algorithms, and technologies, and illustrate their use in biology and biochemistry research using real-life examples. Hands-on practicals will provide participants with essential skills for the application of machine learning methods and software tools for solving problems in Life Sciences. We plan to continue in our effort to organize follow-ups of this meeting and focus on challenging issues in life science disciplines approachable by AI technology.
Computational Approaches and In Silico Enzyme Library Design for Applied Biocatalysis
Groningen, The Netherlands, July 1-5, 2019
The course aims to make participants familiar with the use of structural biology and computational tools for engineering the performance of enzymes that are relevant for applied biocatalysis and synthetic biology. The course provides both a theoretical background on computational methods relevant to enzyme engineering (protein crystallography, homology modeling, energy calculations, protein design, smart libraries) and hands-on computer exercises on visualization and analysis of enzyme structures, including docking simulations and enzyme redesign. The theoretical and practical parts are integrated into a few problem-solving modules. Participants will have the opportunity to share their research via short oral presentations, posters, and interactive lectures.
13th New Enzymology Kinetics Workshop
Brno, Czech Republic, May 26-30, 2019
Modern kinetic methods coupled with high-resolution structural data provide a powerful tool to establish reaction mechanisms. In this intensive five-day course taught by Prof. Zbynek Prokop and Dr. Kenneth A. Johnson, modern kinetic analysis using a variety of kinetic and equilibrium methods is detailed using numerous examples of proteins and nucleic acids. The course focuses on developing the path from experimental design to data collection and analysis to yield new mechanistic insights. Tutorials on the use of computer simulation develop an intuitive understanding of reaction kinetics, and hands-on problem solving facilitates integration and mastery of the course material.
Summer School on Protein Engineering
Brno, Czech Republic, June 24-28, 2018
The Summer School on Protein Engineering is organized for secondary school and university students interested in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomedicine, and biotechnology. The program consists of theoretical introductory lectures and laboratory practicals. Students will learn the basics of protein design, construction, and characterization. Topics to be covered are: search in bioinformatics databases, computer design of biomolecules, construction of mutants using molecular biology techniques, and structural and biophysical determination of protein properties. Successful graduates will receive a certificate and study credits (Bi9280).
Summer School on Protein Engineering
Brno, Czech Republic, June 26-30, 2016
The Summer School on Protein Engineering is organized for secondary school and university students interested in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomedicine, and biotechnology. The program consists of theoretical introductory lectures and laboratory practicals. Students will learn the basics of protein design, construction, and characterization. Topics to be covered are: search in bioinformatics databases, computer design of biomolecules, construction of mutants using molecular biology techniques, and structural and biophysical determination of protein properties. Successful graduates will receive a certificate and study credits (Bi9280).
The Biomania Student Scientific Meeting 2015
Brno, Czech Republic, September 22, 2015
The conference is organized by the Masaryk University and the student organization Biomania. The conference is dedicated to students of bachelor, master and doctoral programmes. Active participants will have a chance to present the results of their own projects and try out their presentation skills in the relaxed informal atmosphere of the students meeting. Entries are divided into sessions and the best presentation in each session as well as the best poster win a prize. The language of the conference is English.
3rd Summer School on Protein Engineering
Brno, Czech Republic, June 22-26, 2014
The Summer on Protein Engineering is organized for the secondary school and the university students interested in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomedicine and biotechnology. The program consists of theoretical introductory lectures and laboratory practicals. Students will learn the basics of protein design, construction and characterization. Topics to be covered are: search in bioinformatics databases, computer design of biomolecules, construction of mutants using molecular biology techniques, structural and biophysical determination of protein properties. Successful graduates will receive a certificate and the study credits (Bi9280).
The Student Scientific Conference on Biotechnology and Biomedicine 2013
Brno, Czech Republic, April 10-12, 2013
The conference is organized by the Masaryk University and the student organization Biomania. The conference is dedicated to students of bachelor, master and doctoral programmes. Active participants will have a chance to present the results of their own projects and try out their presentation skills in relaxed informal atmosphere of the students meeting. Entries are divided into sessions and the best presentation in each session as well as the best poster win a prize. The language of the conference is English.
The Student Scientific Conference on Biotechnology and Biomedicine 2012
Brno, Czech Republic, April 12-13, 2012
The conference is organized by the Masaryk University and the student organization Biomania. This event is dedicated to the bachelor, master and doctoral students from study programmes focused on molecular biology, genetics, genomics, proteomics, biochemistry, bioengineering and biotechnology. Two main topics – biotechnology and genetically modified organisms – will be common to all the sessions. The main goal of the conference is to allow active and talented young people to experience informal atmosphere of students’ meeting, discuss and share their knowledge.
2nd Summer School on Protein Engineering
Brno, Czech Republic, June 24-28, 2012
The Summer on Protein Engineering is organized for the secondary school and the university students interested in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomedicine and biotechnology. The program consists of theoretical introductory lectures and laboratory practicals. Students will learn the basics of protein design, construction and characterization. Topics to be covered are: search in bioinformatics databases, computer design of biomolecules, construction of mutants using molecular biology techniques, structural and biophysical determination of protein properties. Successful graduates will receive a certificate and the study credits (Bi9280).
4th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress
Prague, Czech Republic, August 26-30, 2012
The meeting will showcase European and world chemistry, with the special focus on: Analytical Chemistry and Electrochemistry; Education and History, Professional chemists; Food Chemistry; Green Chemistry and Energy; Inorganic Chemistry; Life Sciences; Nanochemistry, Nanotechnology; Organic Chemistry, Polymers; Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry and Solid State Chemistry. Six Nobel Prize holders will be among other distinguished speakers attending this meeting: Ciechanover Aaron (Israel), Grubbs Robert (USA), Lehn Jean-Marie (France) Tsien Roger (USA), Wüthrich Kurt (USA) and Yonath Ada (Israel).
1st Summer School on Protein Engineering
Brno, Czech Republic, September 5-8, 2010
The Summer on Protein Engineering is organized for the secondary school and the university students interested in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomedicine and biotechnology. The program consists of theoretical introductory lectures and laboratory practicals. Students will learn the basics of protein design, construction and characterization. Topics to be covered are: search in bioinformatics databases, computer design of biomolecules, construction of mutants using molecular biology techniques, structural and biophysical determination of protein properties. Successful graduates will receive a certificate and the study credits (Bi9280).
34th FEBS Congress
Prague, Czech Republic, July 4-9, 2009
The FEBS Congress, held annually in countries that have a constituent society of the Federation, gives a platform for scientific exchange and shows the newest developments of biochemistry and molecular biology. FEBS Congresses provides opportunities for the presentation of original communications, demonstrations and symposia. Featuring 2000 attendees and a showcase of the newest advances in biochemistry the annual FEBS Congress is one of the larger bio-congresses in Europe.
Protein Design and Evolution for Biocatalysis
Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain, October 25-30, 2008
This EMBO-ESF meeting will bring together experts in the field of protein engineering and related experimental and theoretical disciplines, like molecular biology, microbiology, enzymology, crystallography, fluid and multi particle physics, computer modelling and bioinformatics. One of the objectives of this meeting is to intensify the discussion and collaboration between experimentalists and theoreticians. The meeting will be highly interdisciplinary thanks to the invitation of speakers with various backgrounds and research interests coming from different scientific communities.
EU Outreach Workshop on Industrial Biotechnology
Brno, Czech Republic, May 15-16, 2008
The meeting will be attended by industrial biotechnology experts from the Ministries, grant agencies, companies and academic institutes from the European Union and the Czech Republic. The main theme of the meeting will be a discussion on the new growth and strengthening of the position of the Czech Republic as a key player in industrial biotechnologies, the current state evaluation and their further use, and preparation of a document as a basic material for the promotion of biotechnology research and development, and of industry of the Czech Republic.
NATO Biotechnology Team of Experts
Brno, Czech Republic, April 21-24, 2007
The meeting will be attended by national specialists of The Biotechnology Team of Experts. NATO Team of Experts is responsible, under the aegis of the Hazard Management Sub Group, for maintaining a technology watch on the development of biotechnology-based materials or systems that may limit the operational impact of NBC hazards, in particular in the areas of protection and decontamination. The meeting will be organized jointly by the Masaryk University, the Military Technical Institute of Protection, the Centre for Biocatalysis and Biotransformation and the South-Moravian Innovation Centre.
Bioinformatics III
Brno, Czech Republic, October 12, 2006
The symposium is organized with the aim to bring together scientists, practitioners and company representatives interested in different aspects of bioinformatics. The meeting is suited for both experts and novices in the field. The major focus of this year meeting are structural bioinformatics and molecular modelling. The plenary lecture “Evolution and Structure of DNA” will be presented by Prof. Pavel Hobza from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague. The meeting is organized in the framework of INVEX exhibition of Brno Trade Fairs.
Bioinformatics II
Brno, Czech Republic, October 13, 2004
The symposium is organized with the aim to bring together scientists, practitioners and company representatives interested in different aspects of bioinformatics. The major focus of this year meeting are methodologies, technologies and software. The meeting is suited for both experts and novices in the field. The plenary lecture “Protein structure prediction by consensus fold recognition and assembly of fragments” will be presented by Dr. Janusz Bujnicki from the International Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Warsaw. The meeting is organized within the framework of the INVEX exhibition of Brno Trade Fairs.
Alfred Bader – Chemist and Art Collector
Brno, Czech Republic, June 14, 2004
The symposium will be organized on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Dr. Alfred Bader, the founder of Aldrich Chemical Company and the patron of Czech chemists. The plenary lecture about a brilliant Czech-Austrian chemist and physicist Josef Loschmidt will be delivered by Dr. Alfred Bader, while a number of short contributions will be presented by the holders of Aldred Bader Awards and the recipients of Alfred Bader Fellowships. The video recording of the entire symposium and accompanying material will be available on the symposium home page.