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SUMMARY:BioStruct-Africa: empowering Africa-based scientists through struc
 tural biology knowledge transfer and mentoring - recent advances and futur
 e perspectives
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20201119T133600Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20201119T134800Z
DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20261011T015548Z
UID:indico-contribution-2294@events.saip.org.za
DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Emmanuel Nji (Biostructafrica)\, Emmanuel Nji (Unive
 rsity of Stockholm\, Sweden)\nBeing able to visualize biology at the molec
 ular level is essential for our understanding of the world. A structural b
 iology approach reveals the molecular basis of disease processes and can g
 uide the design of new drugs as well as aid in the optimization of existin
 g medicines. However\, due to the lack of a synchrotron light source\, ade
 quate infrastructure\, skilled persons and incentives for scientists in ad
 dition to limited financial support\, the majority of countries across the
  African continent do not conduct structural biology research. Nevertheles
 s\, with technological advances such as robotic protein crystallization an
 d remote data collection capabilities offered by many synchrotron light so
 urces\, X-ray crystallography is now potentially accessible to Africa-base
 d scientists. This leap in technology led to the establishment in 2017 of 
 BioStruct-Africa\, a non-profit organization (Swedish corporate ID: 802509
 - 6689) whose core aim is capacity building for African students and resea
 rchers in the field of structural biology with a focus on prevalent diseas
 es in the African continent. The team is mainly composed of\, but not limi
 ted to\, a group of structural biologists from the African diaspora. The m
 embers of BioStruct- Africa have taken up the mantle to serve as a catalys
 t in order to facilitate the information and technology transfer to those 
 with the greatest desire and need within Africa. BioStruct-Africa achieves
  this by organizing workshops onsite at our partner universities and insti
 tutions based in Africa\, followed by post-hoc online mentoring of partici
 pants to ensure sustainable capacity building. The workshops provide a the
 oretical background on protein crystallography\, hands-on practical experi
 ence in protein crystallization\, crystal harvesting and cryo-cooling\, li
 ve remote data collection on a synchrotron beamline\, but most importantly
  the links to drive further collaboration through research. Capacity build
 ing for Africa-based researchers in structural biology is crucial to win t
 he fight against the neglected tropical diseases\, e.g. ascariasis\, hookw
 orm\, trichuriasis\, lymphatic filariasis\, active trachoma\, loiasis\, ye
 llow fever\, leprosy\, rabies\, sleeping sickness\, onchocerciasis\, schis
 tosomiasis\, etc.\, that constitute significant health\, social and econom
 ic burdens to the continent. BioStruct-Africa aims to build local and nati
 onal expertise that will have direct benefits for healthcare within the co
 ntinent.\n\nhttps://events.saip.org.za/event/211/contributions/2294/
LOCATION:Hosted virtually by the AfLS & AfPS Zoom (sent to registered dele
 gates)
URL:https://events.saip.org.za/event/211/contributions/2294/
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