UK Structural Biology Roadmap Town Hall: Discussion of community needs and priorities for the Next Decade

Meeting

Date: 12-May-2026

Instruct

Instruct Partner

On 12 May 2026, Instruct Centre UK will host a conference in London, aiming to both implementing and develop a national structural biology community both within and external to the infrastructure, and to showcase the power of structural biology and how Instruct facilitates access to advanced infrastructure.

The afternoon session will focus on highlighting both recognised and upcoming researchers in the UK, plus scientific talks from across the Instruct consortium.

The afternoon open session will be available to attend remotely - register to watch the conference here.

Confirmed speakers:

Martin Walsh, Diamond Light Source
Claudia Alén Amaro, Instruct-ERIC
Teresa Carlomagno, University of Birmingham
Stephen Muench, University of Leeds
Sebastian Porav, University of Leeds
Laura Spagnolo, University of Glasgow
Christos Pliotas, University of Manchester
Tom Burnley, CCP-EM - Science and Technology Facilities Council
Frank von Delft, University of Oxford
Ivo Tews, University of Southampton
Pamela Williams, Astex Pharmaceuticals
Dave Stuart, University of Oxford

Registration is now closed. Council members who wish to attend, please contact support@instruct-eric.org.

Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Rd, London, NW1 2BE

Morning Session – UK Structural Biology Strategy (Internal) 9:00 - 12:30
9:00 - 10:00	Registration
10:00 - 10:05	Welcome and introduction - Martin Walsh, Diamond Light Source
10:05 - 10:25	The Current State of Play in Structural Biology - Yvonne Jones, STRUBI
10:25 - 10:45	UK Structural Biology: Scientific Highlights & Impact - Helen Saibil, Birkbeck College
10:45 - 11:05	What does the future hold? - Richard Henderson, MRC
11:10 - 11:40	Break
11:45 - 12:30	Session: Strategy for a National Structural Cell Biology Network?
11:45 - 12:05	eBIC current status and impact - Peijun Zhang, Diamond Light Source
12:05 - 12:30	A proposal for coordinated funding followed by open discussion - Martin Walsh
12:30 - 13:25	Break
Afternoon Session – UK Structural Biology Showcase (Open) 13:25 - 16:45
13:25 - 13:45	Instruct-ERIC: Addressing Challenges in Integrated Structural Biology - Claudia Alén Amaro, Instruct-ERIC
13:45 - 15:00	Showcase Session 1 Developing and expanding time-resolved cryo-EM through a collaborative approach - Stephen Muench, University of Leeds Software and support for the cryo-EM community - Tom Burnley, CCP-EM - Science and Technology Facilities Council Applications of pulsed EPR spectroscopy to understand membrane protein structure and function - Christos Pliotas, University of Manchester An integrative structural biology approach to understand functional mechanisms in biological complexes - Teresa Carlomagno, University of Birmingham CCP4, DRIIMB, and integrated structural biology - Ivo Tews, University of Southampton
15:00 - 15:20	Break
15:20 - 16:25	Showcase Session 2 Staufen Protein as a Case Study: Multi-scale Multi-modal Studies, Collaboration, and the Value of a UK Structural Biology Network - Laura Spagnolo, University of Glasgow Structural biology for drug discovery: an industrial perspective - Pamela Williams, Astex Pharmaceuticals New technologies/ approach's to apply to fragment progression - Frank von Delft, University of Oxford More Than Experience: The Real Value of Instruct Internships - Sebastian Porav, University of Leeds
16:25 - 16:45	Integrated structural cell biology from dream to mainstream: where next? - Dave Stuart, University of Oxford

The UK is the hosting country of Instruct-ERIC, and is a founding Member of the research infrastructure since it became an ERIC in 2017, signed at the Royal Society in London.

The Instruct Centre UK hosts three key facilities: The Harwell Campus home to the Diamond Light Source synchrotron, the national Electron Bio-Imaging Centre (EBIC), and the Membrane Protein Laboratory; The University of Oxford includes the Oxford Particle Imaging Centre (OPIC), Cellular Imaging Core Facility (CICF), as well as the Molecular Biophysics and Mass Spectrometry Centres; and the Astbury Centre at the University of Leeds provides access to EM, NMR, and mass spectrometry.

Find out more about the Instruct Centre UK here.

Instruct-ERIC Events