The third scientific meeting and fourth Management Committee meeting of COST action CM1306 “Understanding Movement and Mechanism in Molecular Machines” was held recently in Malta. “Dynamics of Biomacromolecular Machines” was organized jointly by Dr Thérèse Hunter and Prof Gary Hunter of the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry and was held at the Dolmen Hotel, Bugibba between 27th and 28th March 2017.
Sixty-five delegates from twenty-three European countries and partner countries took part in the event which included thirty presentations on topics from protein systems and spectroscopy to computational methods and time resolved experimental systems used to study the mechanics of motion in complex macromolecular proteins. A poster session was also organized for the event with twenty-three presentations. Local contributors included Dr Rosalin Bonetta highlighting her work on Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Ms Marita Vella who spoke about her PhD research on AhR-Interacting Protein interactions, Mr Brandon Seychell whose poster detailed the progress being made on human Xanthine Oxidoreductase and Dr Thérèse Hunter who presented a poster on the collaborative work being carried out with Prof Mauro Pessia and Dr Maria Cristina D’Adamo within the Department and the Centre for Biobanking and Molecular Medicine to study the structure and dynamics of a human potassium channel.
One highlight of the meeting was the “Collaboration Market” chaired by Prof Arwen Pearson of Hamburg University which served to focus attention on the state-of-the-art equipment and techniques made available by various delegates to be accessed through short term scientific missions (STSM). These STSMs have proved their worth throughout the duration of CM1306, and Maltese students have made use of these productively in visits to other laboratories in Europe.
With the Collaboration Market and the many opportunities for networking throughout the two-day meeting, Dynamics of Biomacromolecular Machines was extremely successful and really emphasized how so much can be achieved through working together. We wish to thank the Projects Office and the operational and events office for their support and we extend our gratitude to the staff of the Dolmen hotel, Bugibba for their hospitality and their continued assistance and attention throughout our stay.