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

在活性位点含有过渡金属离子的酶催化生物学中一些最重要和最困难的化学反应，包括氮还原为氨，光合作用中水氧化为氧，以及未激活的碳氢键的立体特异性功能化。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，并利用这种理解来设计新的生物催化剂。这些努力对社会是重要的，因为它们可能促进例如可再生能源的产生（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肥料。生物无机化学领域是多样化的，包括各种各样的科学学科，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。结合多种不同的实验技术和理论方法，研究金属辅因子的形成、功能和调控，以及这些含金属酶的作用机制。由于这些原因，这一领域的研究通常是高度协作的。本次研讨会将培训生物无机化学领域的学生、博士后学者和主要本科院校的教师，为这一令人兴奋的领域的未来发现奠定基础。有了这个奖项，宾夕法尼亚州立大学分子和细胞生物科学部的分子生物物理学项目和化学部门的生命过程化学项目共同资助了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教授和他的同事领导。2016年的研讨会为大约150名参与者提供培训，包括(i) 17场专业领域的教师专家讲座，（ii） 21种不同方法的实践培训，提供给最多6名参与者的小组，在2小时的时间段内（重复多达12次），由70名学生/博士后/教师专家讲授生物无机方法，（iii）以海报形式的研究报告和由选定的学生和博士后学者进行12次讲座。本次研讨会将独特地培养下一代生物无机化学领域的研究人员。

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.