A workshop entitled “How to Identify Protein Properties” was organized under the patronage of the Dean of the College of Science for Women, Professor Dr. Sameera Naji Khdim. The Continuing Education Unit, in collaboration with the Department of Biology, held the workshop.
The workshop was presented by Dr. Hala Haitham Mohammed Ali and Dr. Shaimaa Awad Abd. It took place in the Hospitality Hall and was attended by a number of faculty members, staff, and female students from the department.
The workshop aimed to explain how to identify protein properties using bioinformatics tools, which are considered essential resources for faculty members, researchers, and postgraduate students. During the workshop, participants were introduced to methods for obtaining amino acid sequences and nucleotide sequences of proteins under study using biological databases and platforms such as NCBI, a comprehensive resource for biological sequences and molecular information, and KEGG, a database designed to facilitate the understanding of gene and protein functions within cellular pathways and interactions.
The workshop also covered the use of ExPASy tools to analyze the physicochemical properties of proteins, including molecular weight and the type and number of amino acids. In addition, it addressed the in silico identification of protein localization within the cell—whether in the cytoplasm or the cell wall—using specialized computational programs.
At the conclusion of the workshop, the organizers demonstrated how to determine the three-dimensional structure of proteins using the SWISS-MODEL program, which is freely accessible to researchers and enables accurate prediction and analysis of protein structures. The workshop witnessed notable engagement from participants through active discussions and interactions with the presenters.
