Workshop Details
Protein Electrostatics
07/06/2009 - 07/10/2009
Meeting Description:

Electrostatic forces govern many key biochemical processes, including all of energy transduction (e.g. catalysis, proton transport, electron transfer, ion homeostasis, etc). Despite 30 years of focused efforts to elucidate the structural basis of electrostatic effects in proteins, this remains a very challenging problem. It has become increasingly clear that polarization, structural relaxation, charge fluctuations, dielectric breakdown, water penetration, and coupling between ionizable sites, all contribute to the stabilization of charge inside proteins. A true multi-scale approach that considers processes ranging from quantum mechanical effects to conformational fluctuations in biological time scales will be needed to make progress in this field. Many novel computational methods have been developed recently that can improve our ability to treat electrostatic effects. However, each of these approaches considers a limited range of factors. Furthermore, developments have been hampered by the lack of experimental data that can provide clear benchmarks for validating the different approaches. The purpose of this workshop will be to bring together experimentalists, theorists and simulators with shared interests in electrostatic effects in water-soluble and membrane proteins. One aim of this workshop will be to identify the critical areas where experiments are needed to obtain physical insight to guide improvements to computational models and data to benchmark these models. Another aim will be to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of different simulation frameworks used to calculate equilibrium constants for ion binding, pKa values, redox Ems, and the effects of pH and salt on conformational transitions. The ultimate goal is to lower the barriers for collaboration amongst and between theory, computation, and experiment.

Notes:

The Protein Electrostatics Organization Committee includes:
Marilyn Gunner, gunner@sci.ccny.cuny.edu
Bertrand Garcia-Moreno, bertrand@jhu.edu
Jens Erik Nielsen, Jens.Nielsen@ucd.ie
Jan Jensen, jhjensen@kemi.ku.dk
Nathan Baker, baker@biochem.wustl.edu
Dear Participants in the 2009 TSRC Workshop on Protein Dynamics,

In less than a week, we will all meet in Telluride. Thank you all for registering and sending abstracts. Please find attached a file containing the final program, abstracts, list of participants and a map of Telluride. Hard copies of the file will be provided at the workshop.

Presentations should be no longer than 30 min. Together with 15 min discussion, the available time per speaker is 45 min. Since we all have different backgrounds, and since a broad range of techniques, methodologies and subjects will be discussed, a basic introduction in the beginning of your presentation would be welcome.

Meeting Venue:

Telluride Intermediate School
725 West Colorado Telluride CO 81435

Protein Electrostatics Registered Meeting Participants:
Participant Organization
Alexov, Emil Clemson University
Baker, Nathan Washington University in St. Louis
Baptista, Antonio Instututo de Tecnologia Quimica e Biologica - UNL
Bardhan, Jaydeep Rush University Medical Center
Carstensen, Tommy University College Dublin
Damjanovic, Ana Johns Hopkins University
Farrell, Damien UCD
Fitch, Carolyn Johns Hopkins University
Garcia-Moreno, Bertrand Johns Hopkins University
Gunner, Marilyn CCNY
Huang, Yong Washington University in St. Louis
Kieseritzky, Gernot Freie Universität Berlin
Knapp, Ernst-Walter Freie Universität Berlin
Lin, Yuchun University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Maupin, C. Mark University of Utah
Mehler, Ernest Weill-Cornell Medical College
Nielsen, Jens Erik University College Dublin
Olsson, Mats Copenhagen University
Rostkowski, Michal University of Copenhagen
Scholtz, J. Martin Texas A&M University Health Science Center Colleg
Shen, Jana K. University of Oklahoma
Song, Yifan University of Washington
Stuchebrukhov, Alexei UC Davis
, Chresten University of Copenhagen
Wang, Hui University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Warshel, Arieh usc
Williams, Sarah UCSD
Word, Mike OpenEye
Yang, Wei Florida State University

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