CCP4-BCA Protein Crystallography Summer School 2026

6th September 2026 at John Innes Centre

The CCP4-BCA Protein Crystallography Summer School is intended for students and researchers relatively new to crystallography. Its dual aims are to provide comprehensive training in crystallography and to promote best practise through a combination of lectures and hands-on tutorials. Lectures will cover the range of techniques required for a protein structure solution, from protein expression through to structure validation. Intensively supervised computer tutorials will enable students to translate the theory presented in the lectures into practice. There will also be a crystal manipulation and cryo-cooling workshop.

The school will begin with a welcome event on the evening of Sunday 6^th September and finish on the evening of Friday 11^th September, with the students departing the following morning.

There will be ample opportunities for students to network with each other and the tutors during breaks and at a number of social events throughout the week. Students may bring their own data to the course to work on with assistance of the various tutors.

Dates

6^th – 11^th Sept 2026 inclusive

Location

John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK

Key dates

Applications open: 6^th May 2026

Application deadline: 19^th June 2026

Supervisor references deadline: 26^th June 2026

Application outcomes announced by: 10^th July 2026

Payment deadline: 24^th July 2026

Programme

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Protein preparation & crystallisation, Crystal harvesting practical		Data processing practical	Experimental phasing (lecture + practical)	Model building & validation (lecture + practical)
Crystal symmetry, X-ray diffraction & Fourier Transform		Molecular replacement (lecture + practical)	Structure refinement (lecture + practical)	Structure deposition & analysis
Radiation damage	AI & AlphaFold
Data collection and data processing

Tutors

David Aragao (Diamond Light Source)

Paul Bond (University of York)

Sofia Caria (Evotec Ltd, Abingdon)

Lucrezia Catapano (MRC-LMB, Cambridge)

Kathryn Cowtan (University of York)

Sandra Eltschkner (John Innes Centre, Norwich)

Christian Escobar Bravo (EBI, Hinxton)

Luis Fuentes-Montero (Diamond Light Source)

Elspeth Garman (University of Oxford)

Alex Konstantinov (STFC, Harwell)

David Lawson (John Innes Centre, Norwich)

Ed Lowe (University of Oxford)

Airlie McCoy (University of Cambridge)

Julia Mundy (John Innes Centre, Norwich)

Callum Mynett (Calibre Scientific, Sheffield)

Rob Nicholls (MRC-LMB, Cambridge)

Melanie Vollmar (EBI, Hinxton)

David Waterman (STFC, Harwell)

Accommodation

En suite accommodation for the duration of the School has been arranged at the Broadview Hotel at the adjacent University of East Anglia, which is a short walk from the John Innes Centre.

Eligibility

The course is open to postgraduate students (2025 entry or before), postdocs and technical staff from both academia and industry. Priority is given to UK applicants because of the funding arrangements, but the School is open to a limited number of overseas applicants. The course will be restricted to 20 students.

All applicants will require a letter of support from their supervisor.

Cost

Registration fees for attendees are kept well below cost price thanks to a substantial grant from CCP4 and generous donations from our other sponsors.

Successful applicants holding a BBSRC-funded PhD studentship will have their registration fee covered by the BBSRC.

The cost of the school, including full board, will be 350 GBP for academic applicants and 500 GBP for industrial applicants (includes VAT), although attendees will be expected to cover the cost of any transport whilst in Norwich.

Childcare and travel grants

We can offer a limited number of small grants to offset travel costs and/or additional childcare costs incurred as a result of attending the course (eligible costs include fees for a caregiver or child-care facility, travel costs for a caregiver).

Please indicate on the application form if you wish to be considered for one or both of these.

If accepted on the course, you will need to provide adequate justification for your request, together with an estimate of your costs.

Application

Given the anticipated popularity of the course, it is unlikely that we will accept more than one student from the same institution.

You should confirm in advance that the person you nominate as your referee will support your application, because your referee will be sent an email automatically on submission of your application.

We will allocate places on the grounds of merit and anticipated benefit to the student.

Accepted students will be required to confirm they will attend the whole course (no late arrivals or early departures).

Please submit your application using this form: https://jic.link/CCP4SS2026-apply

Privacy Policy

All applications will be handled securely in line with our privacy policy: https://jic.link/CCP4SS-PrivacyNotice

Equity and Inclusion

The organisers are committed to making the school productive and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality or religion/belief.

Our full statement, including the Code of Conduct, can be found on https://jic.link/CCP4SS-EIStatement