MOBILIsE hosted its inaugural Advanced Course in Molecular Bioengineering at i3S, bringing together international experts and researchers for a week of intensive learning and networking. The first edition of the Advanced Course, devoted to supramolecular peptide hydrogels, took place between the 20th and 24th of November, being attended by an international cohort of twenty-five researchers at various career stages. The course covered several aspects of self-assembling peptide hydrogels, from their design and functionalisation to their characterisation and biomedical applications, being delivered by international experts in the area who shared their diverse, yet complementary, expertise with the participants.
Sixteen participants also took part in the hands-on practical sessions where they had the opportunity to prepare and characterise supramolecular peptide hydrogels using different techniques such as electron microscopy and rheology. The integration of the practical component was well received by the participants who said that it allowed not only to complement the theoretical lectures with experimental insights, but also promoted closer interactions between the participants and researchers in the field of supramolecular peptide hydrogels. Helena Azevedo, the course organiser and MOBILIsE’s ERA Chair Holder, emphasised the course’s dual focus on training and networking as “the course was designed to promote both training in supramolecular peptide hydrogels and networking amongst participants with diverse backgrounds and interests, a format that gathered very positive feedback”.
Biomatik, a biotech company based in Canada, supported the course by kindly supplying the peptides used in the practical sessions. Theresa Osada, a Sales Team Lead of the company, mentioned that “supporting this kind of initiatives is fully aligned with Biomatik’s mission of making a positive impact on the life sciences research”. Helena Azevedo added that “having their support enabled enriching the participant training experience through hands-on experiments with self-assembling peptide hydrogels, which would otherwise not have been possible”. She goes on to “thank the enthusiastic participation of various members of the Molecular Biomaterials group and of different i3S Scientific Platforms who demonstrated the practical sessions and largely contributed for the smooth running of the course”.
The Advanced Course in Molecular Bioengineering was organised by the MOBILIsE project, integrating the efforts on training the next generation of Molecular Bioengineers. Following this successful first edition, a second edition will be held in the fall of 2024 and will be dedicated to molecularly engineered interfaces.