EMBO practical course:
Structure determination
of biological macromolecules
by solution NMR

Theme

NMR has established itself as a powerful method for structure determination of biological macromolecules in solution and is unique in extracting dynamical information on biological macromolecules over a large range of timescales. The intention of the course is to provide practical training in current state-of-the-art NMR techniques and computational methods for structure determination by NMR. The emphasis will be on practical aspects, i.e. setting up experiments on the spectrometer (optimizing parameters, pulse programs), processing and analyzing NMR data, and structure calculations. The course is aimed at PhD students and postdocs who have some working knowledge of NMR theory, i.e. product operator formalism, and who understand the basic principles of NMR pulse sequences. Possible candidates should have the level of knowledge of students that have participated in a past "Advanced NMR" EMBO lecture course on NMR theory organized by Kaptein, Oschkinat and Griesinger.

Programme

Course notes

Practical schedule

Organizers

Michael Nilges e-mail: nilges@pasteur.fr
Michael Sattler e-mail: sattler@EMBL-Heidelberg.de

Speakers/ Instructors

include

  • Martin Blackledge, Grenoble

  • Christian Griesinger, Frankfurt
  • Stephan Grzesiek, Basel
  • Peter Guentert, Zuerich
  • Ernest Laue, Cambridge
  • Maria Macias, EMBL Heidelberg
  • Lawrence McIntosh, Vancouver
  • Helen Mott, Cambridge
  • Michael Nilges, Paris
  • Michael Sattler, EMBL Heidelberg
  • Juergen Schleucher, Umea
  • Harald Schwalbe, Boston
  • Gert Vriend, Nijmegen
  • Geerten Vuister, Nijmegen

    Date

    September 12-19, 2001

    Location

    EMBL, Meyerhofstr. 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
    Maps and instructions how to get to EMBL can be found here.

    Application/Registration

    The course is planned for a maximum of 20 students. Possible candidates should have the level of knowledge of students that have participated in a past "Advanced NMR" EMBO lecture course on NMR theory organized by Kaptein, Oschkinat and Griesinger.
    Registration will only be possible on-line (see below). For registration (no fee), applicants should describe their CV, NMR and research experience, current research and a justification/motivation why they would like to participate.
    Lodging will be available at the ISG hotel near EMBL (rooms shared by 2 people). Food and lodging expenses will be covered by EMBO.
    Application is not possible anymore. Successful applicants have been informed by e-mail.

    Sponsors

    We gratefully acknowledge support from Bruker, CIL, and Martek.

    Programme

    The course will start at 16:00 on Wednesday, Sept 12 and finish after lunch on Wednesday, Sept 19.

    The course is intended to cover the experimental and computational aspects of characterizing structure and dynamics of a biological macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) by modern NMR techniques. This includes setting up and understanding NMR experiments at the spectrometer, triple resonance experiments, edited/filtered experiments, projection angle restraints from residual dipolar couplings and from cross-correlated relaxation, hydrogen bonding, heteronuclear relaxation. Software and methods for processing and analyzing NMR data will be introduced. Structure calculations will be performed using DYANA and ARIA.

    During a round table at the beginning of the course participants should introduce themselves and briefly describe their current research.

    Participants should bring a (small sized) poster about their research. The posters will be mounted during the whole time of the course, and there will be a poster session for presenting and discussing the posters.

    Every subject will be introduced by lectures (1h each day). The experiments and programs used during the practical will be demonstrated. The remainder of the day will be devoted to practical work either on the spectrometer, or on computers for analyzing NMR data and performing structure calculations.

    The NMR practical will be organized in such a way that each participant (in groups of 2-3) will be able to set up the experiments. Data analysis, assignment and structure calculation will be performed by the participants in small groups distributed throughout the week.

    A sample project will be available for performing the NMR experiments, data analysis, assignment and structure calculation. For each step, pre-recorded and pre-processed data will be available. We will try to make it possible for participants to bring their own data.

    Here you can find the programme, teaching material and lecture notes from the previous EMBO Practical Course which was held in Sept 1999.