Bioinorganic Training Workshop

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Bioinorganic chemistry is a vibrant field that encompasses a wide variety of scientific areas (e.g. genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and analytical and physical chemistry) and an even wider assortment of methods to interrogate given questions (e.g. reaction kinetics, spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and computation). Among its aims is to understand the formation, function, and regulation of the many metallo-cofactors found in Nature as well as to identify novel metallo-cofactors. Because these areas are so diverse and require in-depth expertise, research in bioinorganic chemistry is most often carried out collaboratively. In fact, research in bioinorganic chemistry has been highly collaborative since the 1960s, long before “interdisciplinary research” became a fashionable term in the 1990s. In order to provide training to students and postdocs working in such a broad area, workshops in bioinorganic chemistry were offered from ~1985 to ~2003 at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (organized by Bob Crichton and colleagues) and from ~1990 to ~2000 at the University of Georgia (organized by Michael Johnson and colleagues). These workshops were offered during the summer to ~60-80 students and postdoctoral associates and were divided into three separate parts: (i) ~20-25 tutorials given by experts in the field on a subject pertaining to bioinorganic chemistry, (ii) three one-day practical sessions, during which workshop participants carried out experiments on three of five different topics, and (iii) case studies, presented by experts in that particular field, illustrating the interdisciplinary approach in bioinorganic chemistry. Both workshops were very popular with students and faculty, as they provided an unparalleled training opportunity. The workshop in Louvain-la-Neuve was offered again in 2009 and will also be offered in 2011 (see Chemistry of Metals in Biological Systems for the program). No equivalent workshop is presently offered in the US.

The first bioinorganic training workshop at Penn State (June 1 - June 2 2010)

The second bioinorganic training workshop at Penn State (May 31 - June 9 2012)

 The registration for the Second Penn State Bioinorganic Workshop is now open.

Please follow the following steps:

1. Fill out the online application, which will help us to coordinate the event (if you have already filled out the preregistration, you do not need to fill it out again, we have your information and will contact you soon). We will review applications on a rolling basis. Please respond soon, because space is limited to 80 participants for the experimental section of the workshop 
2. When your application is accepted, you will receive an email from either April Leiter or Nancy Wilson with further instructions how to register for the workshop and book accomodation (on-campus housing). You will also receive a link to a liability form that you need to sign and return.
3. Early registration fee is $700 (before March 30th) and will then increase to $900.
4. Poster abstracts are due April 13th. A template for the abstract can be downloaded here.
5. Please direct questions concerning the scientific program to bioinorganic@chem.psu.edu.

ONLINE APPLICATION

On-Campus Housing Application

Off-Campus Housing Link

PSU Liability Release-Bioinorganic Seminar Training Program 2012