Protein Structural Validation & Functional Predictions

There is a growing demand within biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and protein engineering sectors for professionals who can evaluate protein structures and predict the effects of sequence modifications before costly laboratory experimentation. Students will learn how to validate predicted protein models and predict the model’s stability using biophysical analysis software. Learners will then be introduced to mutagenesis, the foundation of protein engineering, and learn how to model amino acid substitutions using biomolecular visualization software. The functional outcomes of the mutations on the protein’s structure will be predicted using biophysical analysis software to measure free energy changes and emerging software used to calculate thermal stability and expression capacities of the protein. Emphasis is placed on interpreting computational results in a biological context and communicating findings through scientific reports. Students gain practical experience with tools and workflows commonly used in protein engineering, therapeutic development, and biotechnology research.