ALS2: Biophysical methods for the real-time characterization of biomolecular interactions (Kinetics 2025)

 

Description of the course:

The real-time monitoring of binding kinetics provides a much more accurate representation of biological processes than end-point « equilibrium » measurements.

Knowing how fast interaction partners associate and what is the time stability of biomolecular assemblies is crucial to understand the dynamics of living systems.

The objective of the theoretical/practical “Kinetics2025” course is to illustrate the large diversity of biophysical methods that have been developed over the years for the determination of rates of association (k_on) and dissociation (k_off) in a variety of contexts, and to provide an invaluable opportunity to assess hands-on the strong points of a number of commercially available instruments.

The course will cover different techniques such as:

• Surface-based methods: SPR, BLI, GCI, SwitchSense, QCM,…
• Real-time cell-binding assays
• In-solution methods: stopped-flow, FIDA, kinetic ITC
• Single molecule/particle methods: AFM, magnetic tweezers, mass photometry

Time will also be dedicated to data analysis and FAIR database deposition.

Outline of the course:

The course will start on the morning of Monday 31^st of March and end on Friday 4^th of April in the afternoon, with lectures and round tables in the mornings and practical sessions in the afternoons.

The tutor panel will involve expert users from academia and industry, as well as field application scientists from instrumentation development companies.

The course will provide time slots for exchange between the tutors and participants, as well as between the students. Participants will notably have the opportunity to briefly describe their own projects related to biomolecular interaction kinetics.

Other details:

The course is aimed at scientists with experience in at least one method of kinetic characterization of biomolecular interactions, who wish to deepen their knowledge of the field and acquire new scientific and technical skills. Applicants can be graduate or PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, technicians or engineers, early career or more senior researchers, working in whatever academic or industrial context.

The participants should show that the outcome of the course will be used directly in their projects and activities.

• Registration to the course will be free of charge.
• Daily lunches and coffee breaks will be provided to all participants.
• Candidates can also apply for travel bursaries of up to €500 upon proof of expenses (reimbursed after the course).

Download a pdf version of a flyer for this course via the link below:

Scientific organization committee

• Helena Danielson (Uppsala, Sweden)
• Jérôme Dejeu (Besançon, France)
• Patrick England (Paris, France)
• Kelvin Lau (Lausanne, Switzerland)

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Application to take part in the course

The course is limited to 20 participants and therefore any interested parties will need to submit an application for consideration to take part.

Who is eligible to apply:

Anyone with a workplace/host institution in one of the EU member or associated states may apply to attend this course (this includes people from the UK). Applicants from industry are also welcome. It is expected that the applicant has at least a basic knowledge of molecular biology, biochemistry and/or biophysics and that the topic of the course is applicable to their area of research/work. Applications from scientists in the early-stage of their career are particularly encouraged and we will strive to obtain a gender balance of the participants in the course.

How to apply:

When to apply:

It is now possible to apply for this school. Completed application forms, along with any supporting documentation should be sent to

Application deadline:

The deadline for submission of an application to participate in this school is the: 17^th January 2025.