Conference: 4th Penn State Bioinorganic Workshop and the 4th "Frontiers in Metallobiochemistry" Symposium to be held at Penn State University; June 2 - June 10, 2016

在活性中心含有过渡金属离子的酶催化生物中一些最重要和最困难的化学反应，包括将氮还原为氨，在光合作用中将水氧化为氧，以及非活性碳氢键的立体专一性官能化。生物无机化学领域旨在了解金属离子在生物催化过程中所起的作用，并利用这一理解来设计新的生物启发催化剂。这些努力对社会很重要，因为它们可以促进可再生能源的产生(例如，太阳能转换和可再生燃料的生物生产)，为地球提供动力。它还可能促进生产更便宜的农业化肥。生物无机化学领域是多样化的，包括广泛的科学学科，包括遗传学、分子生物学、生物化学、生物物理学、生物信息学、分析化学和物理化学。许多不同的实验技术和理论方法结合在一起，研究了金属辅因子的形成、功能和调节，以及这些含金属酶的机理。出于这些原因，这一领域的研究通常是高度合作的。这次研讨会将培训学生、博士后学者和主要来自生物无机化学领域的本科生和教职员工，为这一令人兴奋的领域的未来发现奠定基础。有了这一奖项，分子和细胞生物科学部的分子生物物理学计划和化学部的生命过程化学计划将共同资助一个两年一次的培训研讨会，该研讨会由宾夕法尼亚州立大学化学系的Carsten Krebs教授和同事领导。2016年的研讨会为大约150名参与者提供培训，包括(I)教师在其专业领域内的17次讲座，(Ii)21种不同方法的实践培训，向最多6人的小组提供2小时的时间块(重复最多12次)，由70名学生/博士后/教师专家讲授生物无机方法，(Iii)以海报形式进行研究演示，并由选定的学生和博士后学者进行12次演讲。这次研讨会将独特地培训生物无机化学领域的下一代研究人员。

Enzymes containing transition metal ions in their active sites catalyze some of the most important and difficult chemical reactions in biology, including the reduction of nitrogen to ammonia, the oxidation of water to oxygen in photosynthesis, and the stereospecific functionalization of unactivated carbon-hydrogen bonds. The area of bioinorganic chemistry aims to understand the role that metal ions play in bio-catalytic processes and use this understanding to enable the design of new bio-inspired catalysts. The efforts are important to society, because they may facilitate, for example, the generation of renewable energy (e.g. solar energy conversion and bioproduction of renewable fuels) to power the planet. It may also facilitate the production of cheaper fertilizers for agriculture. The field of bioinorganic chemistry is diverse and includes a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, analytical chemistry, and physical chemistry. Many different experimental techniques and theoretical methods are combined to study the formation, function and regulation of the metal cofactors, as well as the mechanism of these metal-containing enzymes. For these reasons, research in this area is generally highly collaborative. This workshop will train students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty members from primarily undergraduate institutions in the area of bioinorganic chemistry, setting the stage for future discoveries in this exciting field. With this award, the Molecular Biophysics Program in the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Division and the Chemistry of Life Processes Program in the Chemistry Division is co-funding a biennial training workshop, which is led by Prof. Carsten Krebs and colleagues at the Department of Chemistry at The Pennsylvania State University. The 2016 workshop provides training for approximately 150 participants and encompasses (i) 17 lectures by faculty experts in the field in their area of specialty, (ii) hands-on training in 21 different methods offered to small groups of up to 6 participants in 2-hour time-blocks (repeated up to 12 times) and taught by 70 student/postdoc/faculty experts in bioinorganic methods and (iii) research presentations in the form of posters and 12 talks by selected students and postdoctoral scholars. This workshop will uniquely train the next generation of researchers in the field of bioinorganic chemistry.