Structural Biology

24-28 November 2025
Milan

Organizer: M. Mapelli (IEO) & A. Casanal (HT) - Dates: 24-28 November  2025

Format: in-person only course

Location: Human Technopole, Milan

The course is meant to illustrate the basic principles of various techniques used in fore-front integrative structural biology approaches, including cryo-electron microscopy and tomography, crystallography, NMR, Mass-Spec Cross-Linking and Alpha-Fold. The topics will be introduced by lectures given by SEMM faculty members and external speakers, complemented with several hands-on tutorials in which the students will familiarize with software and instrumentation. 

Timetable
9.30-11.30
Lesson Argument

Crystallization theory and practical

Teachers

Sebastiano Pasqualato (HT) & Luigi Scietti (IEO)

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
11.45-12.45
Lesson Argument

Basis of crystallography

Teachers

Marina Mapelli,

Affiliations

IEO

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
14.00-16.00
Lesson Argument

Pymol tutorial

Teachers

Sebastiano Pasqualato (HT) & Luigi Scietti (IEO)

Lesson Location
Mezzanine Training Room
Timetable
16.30-17.30
Lesson Argument

Structure based drug design

Teachers

Claudio Ciferri,

Affiliations

Genentech, San Francisco, US

Timetable
9.30-10.30
Lesson Argument

Principles of Cryo-EM SPA

Teachers

Francesca Coscia,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
10.30-11.30
Lesson Argument

Anatomy of the microscopes and sample preparation

Teachers

Paolo Swuec,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
11.45-12.45
Lesson Argument

Challenges of a SPA project

Teachers

Claudio Alfieri,

Affiliations

ICR, London, UK

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
14.00-14.30
Lesson Argument

Working with Cryo-EM microscopes

Teachers

Paolo Swuec

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Mezzanine Training Room
Timetable
14.30-15.30
Lesson Argument

Visit to microscopes
Negative staining tutorial

Students will be divided into 2 groups which will alternate for the microscopes’ visit and negative staining tutorial

Timetable
15.30-17.00
Lesson Argument

Model building tutorial: Coot for model building and structure interpretation of
cryoEM maps 

Timetable
9.30-10.20
Lesson Argument

Principles of NMR

Teachers

Giovanna Musco,

Affiliations

San Raffaele Institute

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
10.40-11.30
Lesson Argument

Mass Spectrometry for Structural Biology: XL-MS

Teachers

Andrea Graziadei,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
11.45-12.45
Lesson Argument

Principles of Alpha-fold

Teachers

Andrea Graziadei,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
14.00-17.00
Lesson Argument

Alpha-fold tutorial

Teachers

Michelangelo Lassandro and Alessio Di Ianni,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Mezzanine Training Room
Timetable
9.30-10.20
Lesson Argument

Principles of Cryo-ET: sample prep and theory

Teachers

Philipp Erdmann,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
10.40-11.30
Lesson Argument

CLEM: correlative light and electron microscopy

Teachers

Pedro Pereira Machado and Elisa Chen,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
11.45-12.45
Lesson Argument

Solist: Biopsie at the nanoscale

Teachers

Gaia Perone,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
14.00-15.00
Lesson Argument

A cryo-ET and cell biology story

Teachers

Giulia Zanetti,

Affiliations

Crick, London, UK

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
15.00-17.00
Lesson Argument

Cryo-ET workshop and tutorial

Teachers

Philipp Erdmann,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Mezzanine Training Room
Timetable
9.30-10.20
Lesson Argument

Visual Communication in Biology

Teachers

Margot Riggi,

Affiliations

MPI Martinsried, Germany

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
10.30-12.30
Lesson Argument

Blender

Teachers

Davide Rambaldi,

Affiliations

Human Technopole

Lesson Location
Human Technopole - Auditorium
Timetable
14.00-15.30
Lesson Argument

Time for students to work together

Lesson Location
Mezzanine Training Room
Timetable
15.30-17.00
Lesson Argument

Students’ presentation

Teachers

Ana Casañal (HT) & Marina Mapelli (IEO)

Lesson Location
Mezzanine Training Room