Rapid Data Collection and Structure Solving at the NSLS:
A Practical Course in Macromolecular X-Ray Diffraction Measurement
Biology Department and National Synchrotron Light Source
Brookhaven National Laboratory
22-27 April 2012
Course Motivation
Synchrotron radiation has become an indispensable tool for many macromolecular crystallography groups. Some synchrotron-specific skills are difficult to learn without ones having an intensive hands-on training program. But not all research groups have the luxury of providing long training sessions for students and postdocs.
To provide such an educational experience, we have designed a course in Rapid Data Collection and Structure Solving, which we have presented thirteen times before. It will be sponsored in part by a grant from the Biomedical Technology Research Center group within the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health, and the Office of Biological and Environmental Research of the US Department of Energy. In this course we will develop the ideas behind conventional methods for diffraction-data collection, will describe several different structure-solving methods, and will give students practical experience in work on their own specimens.
The course should accommodate 48 students total. All students are encouraged to bring their own specimens for data collection, and to bring old data for the data-reduction and structure-solving tutorials. Students will be divided into 12 sections. Each section will comprise approximately equal numbers of students with crystals, and those without. Each section will get a total of about 30 hours on a beamline. Those without crystals will have a period of several hours to practice on sample specimens they will have mounted themselves. In addition to conventional cryo-mounting, students may consider employing automounting, use of a Queued system for screening of multiple specimens, and use of an optical spectroscopy system for colored crystals.
The main RapiData course will begin on Monday morning, 23 April 2012. In addition, we will hold a short lecture course on the fundamentals of crystallography for roughly five hours on Sunday 22 April. The body of the RapiData course really requires that students have a healthy knowledge of crystallography, or the lectures will make no sense to them. For potential students who have some experience but are shaky about fundamentals, this course, to be given by R. Sweet, will help. There will be an additional fee for the fundamentals course only to pay for Saturday night accommodations and food on Sunday morning and noon.
We invite applicants for this course. Select the Course Application tab above. The deadline for application is beginning of our working day at 8AM ET Mon Feb 6 2012.
Applicants who are foreign to the United States should apply early to accommodate Brookhaven Lab access requirements.
Latin American Scientists
Several scholarships are available from the
International Union of Crystallography, to pay partial travel and
subsistence costs for Latin-American students and junior (under 40 yrs) faculty. Please
apply for the course, and then contact R. Sweet if you are interested in
applying for a scholarship. In accordance with the standards of the
International Union of Crystallography, we observe the basic policy of
non-discrimination, affirming the right and freedom of scientists to
associate in international scientific activity without regard to such
factors as citizenship, religion, creed, political stance, ethnic origin,
race, color, language, age, or gender, in accordance with the Statutes of
the International Council for Science. At this course no barriers will exist
beyond the application procedure that would prevent the participation of
bona fide scientists.
Approximate Course Agenda
Sunday 22 April |
| Crystallographic Fundamentals R. Sweet will present a day-long course (roughly 9AM to 3PM) to provide additional background to students whose experience might leave them a bit baffled by the lectures in the course. A wide range of fundamentals of data production, data collection, and structure solving will be presented, with the focus being to provide prerequisite knowledge for the remainder of the course. Students Arrive & Register; Dinner will be served. |
Monday 23 April |
Lectures & Tentative Speakers
|
Tuesday 24 April |
Lectures
|
Wednesday - Thursday 25-26 April |
| Data Collection Sessions (NSLS) - Most tutorials, matching each of the Monday/Tuesday lectures, will continue through this time. Each section will have sessions for data collection on both our bending-magnet and our undulator beamlines. Extra opportunities include 1) use of robotic automounters, 2) use of a remote Queued crystal-screening system, and 3) for colored proteins, use of a coordinated system for x-ray diffraction and single-crystal optical spectroscopy. There will be a "required" course meeting every afternoon to assess progress and discuss problems. |
Friday 27 April |
| Recapitulation (Biology Dept) - The course staff, with the help of students, will recount triumphs, troubles, and interesting observations. Course staff will be available until noon to assist students in tidying up calculations, backing up data, etc. |
To apply to attend the course, select the Course Application tab, above.
- The deadline is 8AM Eastern Time Monday 6 February 2012.
- Course Fee: $725 -- to include food, housing, and some fraction of other course expenses, the rest of which are paid through grants and donations. The additional fee for subsistence during the Fundamentals Course will be $75.
Participating Beamlines
- X4-A, X4-C: New York Structural Biology Center
- X12-B and X12-C: BNL Biology Dept.
- X25: BNL Biology Dept., NSLS
- X26-C: BNL Biology Dept.
- X29: BNL Biology Dept., Case Western Reserve University, NSLS
Course Organizers
- R.M. Sweet
- S. Kiss
- A. Soares
- H. Robinson
- L. Berman
- D. Schneider
- A. Héroux
- A. Orville
Sponsors
This course is sponsored by a grant from the Biomedical Technology Research Centers of the NIH National Center of Research Resources to the Brookhaven Biology Department and National Synchrotron Light Source, and by support from the Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research, and several commercial contributors.
Last Modified: February 2, 2012
