RCN: Coordinated Computing in Structural Biology

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Structural biology -- the determination and analysis of macromolecular structures in relation to their biological functions -- rests not only on its core experimental methodologies but also on the computational approaches that make it possible to collect and interpret the relevant data. A primary objective of the SBGrid Research Coordination Network (RCN) is to provide a uniform level of computing grid access and software availability to all structural-biology groups, including those in geographically underrepresented communities and smaller universities. The RCN will consolidate the high-performance computing resources of a large number of participating laboratories and build a bridge between the structural biology and the physical-sciences communities, through federation with Open Science Grid. The award will enhance the capacity of individual laboratories to solve challenging and ambitious structural biology problems, particularly ones that require use of multiple experimental technologies. The network will adapt a number of structural?biology applications to take advantage of grid resources and contemporary hardware technologies. It will encourage development of parallelized, grid-compatible software in affiliated laboratories, and will coordinate their installation, testing, and distribution. In this connection, the RCN will also support short courses in computer programming for structural biologists. By enabling access to a wide array of institutions and investigators, this RCN will have significant broader impacts.