Instruct-ERIC Biennial Structural Biology Conference
Speaker List and Conference Programme
Brussels, Belgium | 28-29 May 2026
Harald Schwalbe
Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
Eva Kowalinski
EMBL Grenoble, France
Savvas Savvides
Ghent University and VIB, Belgium
Joana Pereira
VIB.AI and KU Leuven, Belgium
Roman Jerala
Kemijski Institut, Slovenia
Michael Sattler
Helmholtz Munich, Germany
Albert Weixlbaumer
IGBMC Strasbourg, France
Anastassia Vorobieva
VIB-VUB Center, Belgium
Arnaud Vanden Broeck
University of Liège, Belgium
Han Remaut
VIB-VUB Center, Belgium
Michal Sharon
Weizmann Institute, Israel
Maya Topf
CSSB (LIV and UKE), Germany
Philip Gribbon
EU-OPENSCREEN
Joseph Thrush
Rosalind Franklin Institute, UK
Jorge Cuellar
CNB-CSIC, Spain
Shourav Saha
Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
Steven De Gieter
VIB-VUB, Belgium
Lucia Ilkovicova
Masaryk University, Czechia
Anastasia Tsagkarakou
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Maria Carrasquero-Ordaz
University of Oxford, UK
9:00 - 12:00 Instruct-ERIC Executive Committee [Closed]
13:00 - 17:00 Women in Science Workshop - Marriott Hotel Grand Place - find out more and register here.
Session One - Macromolecular DesignChairs: Thomas Schneider and Carlos Cordeiro |
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| Time | Speaker | Institution | Title |
| 9:00 - 9:10 | Opening Ceremony | ||
| 9:10 - 9:40 | Harald Schwalbe | Instruct-ERIC Director | TBC |
| 9:40 - 9:55 | Martin Blackledge | IBS Grenoble | Presentation of the Ivano Bertini Award |
| 9:55 - 10:30 | Bertini Award Winner | TBC | |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Break | ||
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Eva Kowalinski | EMBL Grenoble | TBC |
| 11:30 - 12:00 | Anastassia Vorobieva | VIB-VUB |
De novo design of β-barrels nanopores with defined size and function |
| 12:00 - 12:15 | Lucia Ilkovicova | Masaryk University |
Deciphering the Tau/14-3-3 Interaction via Artificial Intelligence and Chemical Cross-Linking |
| 12:15 - 12:30 |
Anastasia Tsagkarakou |
University of Naples Federico II |
The discovery of novel class of disaccharide-based ligands of Galectin-3 |
| 12:30 - 13:00 | Roman Jerala | Kemijski Institut |
Modular protein design for novel folds and programmable cell regulation |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Lunch | ||
Session Two - New TechnologiesChairs: Sarah Butcher |
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| Time | Speaker | Institution | Title |
| 14:00 - 14:30 | Michael Sattler | Helmholtz Munich |
NMR reveals dynamics and unfolded conformations in the regulation of protein-RNA interactions |
| 14:30 - 14:45 | Itziar Serna-Martin | ThermoFisher |
Bringing protein structure into cellular context through advances in cryo-electron tomography |
| 14:45 - 15:15 | Joana Pereira | VIB.AI and KU Leuven |
Charting the dark corners of the protein function space in the era of AI |
| 15:15 - 16:30 | Even-Number Poster Session and Tea/Coffee | ||
| 16:30 - 16:45 | Steven De Gieter | VIB-VUB |
MISO: Microfluidic protein isolation enables cryo-EM structure determination of single dish of cells |
| 16:45 - 17:00 | Shourav Saha | Paul Scherrer Institute |
Resolving anti-cancer drug binding to tubulin using 4th-generation synchrotron and XFEL sources |
| 17:00 - 17:30 | Maya Topf | CSSB (LIV and UKE) |
Integrative Modelling in the Era of AlphaFold |
| 17:30 - 18:00 | Philip Gribbon | EU-OPENSCREEN |
Generating high quality data sets to help decision making in AI-informed drug discovery |
| 18:00 - 19:15 | Odd-Number Poster Session and Drinks | ||
| 19:30 | Conference Walking Dinner at KVS | ||
Session Three - Molecular Motors and Dynamic SystemsChairs: Harald Schwalbe and Arnaud Poterszman |
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| Time | Speaker | Institution | Title |
| 9:00 - 9:05 | Guest Presenter |
Presenting the Inaugural Instruct-ERIC ECR Award |
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| 9:05 - 9:30 | Early Career Researcher Awardee |
TBC |
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| 9:30 - 10:00 | Arnaud Vanden Broeck | University of Liège |
Principles of human pre-60S assembly |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Break | ||
| 10:30 - 10:45 | Joseph Thrush | Rosalind Franklin Institute |
Investigating the viral-host membrane fusion events of Nipah Virus |
| 10:45 - 11:00 | Jorge Cuéllar | CNB-CSIC |
Structures of the 26S proteasome in complex with Bag1 reveal a mechanism for substrate transfer |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Albert Weixlbaumer | IGBMC Strasbourg | Supramolecular assemblies in gene expression: Cooperation of RNA polymerase and the ribosome |
| 11:30 - 11:45 |
Daniel Mathieu |
Bruker BioSpin |
TBC |
| 11:45 - 12:00 | Group Photo | ||
| 12:00 - 13:30 | Lunch | ||
Session Four - The Architecture of LifeChair: Jan Steyaert and André Matagne |
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| Time | Speaker | Institution | Title |
| 13:30 - 14:00 | Han Remaut | VIB-VUB |
CryoID as a forward genetic tool in the study of bacterial cell surfaces |
| 14:00 - 14:15 | Maria Carrasquero-Ordaz | University of Oxford |
Nanobodies as Molecular Tools to Link Cell-Surface Architecture to Tissue Function |
| 14:15 - 14:45 | Michal Sharon | Weizmann Institute of Science |
From Intact Proteoforms to Biological Identity |
| 14:45 - 15:15 | Savvas Savvides | Ghent University and VIB |
Reversal of roles in a new era of structure-based discovery in immunology |
| 15:15 - 16:30 | Poster Prize Presentation and Closing | ||