The seventh annual international Hands-on Computational Enzyme Design Course, organized by Loschmidt Laboratories in cooperation with Enantis, took place from February 9 to 13, 2026. During five intensive days, participants gained practical experience with modern tools used in the computational design of enzymes and proteins. The event was attended by 63 participants from 24 countries, representing both academia and industry.
The course program focused on the use of advanced software tools for the search for new enzymes and their subsequent optimization, as well as on the application of machine learning in protein engineering. Participants mainly focused on modifying enzyme properties, such as activity, specificity, enantioselectivity, stability, and solubility. In addition to working with digital tools, they also received specialized training in the processing of experimental kinetic data and the proper interpretation of results.
The course offered a combination of expert lectures, practical tutorials, and discussions that created a space for the exchange of experiences among researchers from different countries. The knowledge gained can help participants to use modern bioinformatics and computational methods more effectively in protein engineering and biocatalysis research.
The course was also made possible by the support of several partners, including Masaryk University, RECETOX, St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno (FNUSA), CLARA Center, the COZYME COST Action CA21162 initiative and the ELIXIR infrastructure. The event was also supported by the APBC consortium project, which focuses on the development of cutting-edge research in the field of biotechnology and biomedicine where computational modelling and machine learning are essential components of modern research and applications.
