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. 2022 Aug 15;11(8):bio059487.
doi: 10.1242/bio.059487. Epub 2022 Aug 16.

Hands-on training in structural biology, a tool for sustainable development in Africa series 4

Dinkorma T Ouologuem  1 , Fatoumata O Maiga  1 , Antoine Dara  1 , Abdoulaye Djimdé  1 , Daouda A K Traore  2   3   4   5   6 , Emmanuel Nji  2   7
Affiliations

Hands-on training in structural biology, a tool for sustainable development in Africa series 4

Dinkorma T Ouologuem et al. Biol Open. .

Abstract

Structural biology is an essential tool for understanding the molecular basis of diseases, which can guide the rational design of new drugs, vaccines, and the optimisation of existing medicines. However, most African countries do not conduct structural biology research due to limited resources, lack of trained persons, and an exodus of skilled scientists. The most urgent requirement is to build on the emerging centres in Africa - some well-established, others growing. This can be achieved through workshops that improve networking, grow skills, and develop mechanisms for access to light source beamlines for defining X-ray structures across the continent. These would encourage the growth of structural biology, which is central to understanding biological functions and developing new antimicrobials and other drugs. In this light, a hands-on training workshop in structural biology series 4 was organised by BioStruct-Africa and the Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC) in Bamako, Mali, to help bridge this gap. The workshop was hosted by MRTC from the 25th to 28th of April 2022. Through a series of lectures and practicals, the workshop enlightened the participants on how structural biology can be utilised to find solutions to the prevalent diseases in Africa. The short training gave them an overview of target selection, protein production and purification, structural determination techniques, and analysis in combination with high-throughput, structure-guided, fragment-based drug design.

Keywords: Africa; BioStruct-Africa; Capacity building; Structural biology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests D.A.K.T. is the co-founder, and E.N. is the CEO and co-founder of BioStruct-Africa. Along with the co-authors, they declare no competing or financial interests.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Hands-on training in structural biology in Bamako, Mali from the 25th to 28th of April 2022. (A) Introduction to the protein crystallization, crystal imaging, harvesting, and cryocooling lab session. (B) Crystals of lysozyme grown by hanging drop vapour diffusion. (C) X-ray crystallographic remote data collection. (D) Cryo-EM remote data collection and structural determination.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Workshop feedback report from sixteen participants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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