UGM 2024
When and Where
The UGM (User Group Meeting) will be held in-person across 3 days, August 21-23, 2024, in London, UK at King’s College London, in partnership with the Thomas Young Centre.
Address
Lecture Theatre 1, Bush House
Strand Campus, King’s College London
30 Aldwych
London, WC2B 4BG
United Kingdom
What to Expect
The UGM will bring together users of the MDAnalysis package from different communities. Our goal is to foster an opportunity to connect for interdisciplinary researchers and developers across biomolecular simulations, soft matter, materials science and more. Whether you are a new MDAnalysis contributor, an MDAnalysis core developer, or a researcher using (or interested in using) MDAnalysis for your work in academia or industry, this UGM is for you. You can expect:
- Keynote talks from experts in the molecular dynamics simulations space (see Keynote Speakers below)
- Talks related to developing and using MDAnalysis for diverse scientific applications (see Program below)
- Tutorials diving into new features
- Direct access to the MDAnalysis core developer team to help shape future development of MDAnalysis
- Networking opportunities to foster new collaborations
- Hackathon and other social outings
Registration
Register by July 14, 2024 (midnight anywhere on Earth); see the registration button below. Attendance is free and first-come, first-serve.
Abstracts and bursary applications are no longer being accepted (deadline: Monday, April 15, 2024).
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Antonia Mey
Antonia has worked on Markov State models with Frank Noe and alchemical free energy calculations with Julien Michel before starting her own research group in 2020 at the University of Edinburgh in the School of Chemistry. Her group works on computational biophysics problems using machine learning and simulations to understand protein function. She is an advocate for open-source software and diamond open access publishing models. She has contributed to pyEmma, BioSimSpace and she and her group (https://mey-research.org) are avid users of MDAnalysis.
Dr. Francesca Stanzione
Francesca is a computational chemist with over a decade expertise in target assessment, hit identification and lead optimisation. After obtaining a Ph.D. in Biotechnology, Francesca embarked on a distinguished career path. With five years of postdoctoral fellowships Francesca’s work centered on characterising the structural and dynamical properties of complex biological systems, including proteins and protein-ligand complexes, biological membranes and biomaterials. In 2023, Francesca joined the pharmaceutical industry, where she now provides invaluable computational support to a variety of drug discovery campaigns. Prior to her current role, Francesca was at the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC), working closely with software developers to help the development and enhancement of computational tools for drug discovery. Francesca’s multifaceted background as a pharmaceutical chemist and her extensive experience across academia and industry positions her as a dynamic and influential figure in the realm of computational drug discovery.
Program
The conference will start at 9:00 am on Wednesday, 21 August and will close around 5:30 pm on Thursday, 22 August. An informal hackathon will be held from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm on Friday, 23 August. All times are in BST (British Summer Time). Please note this is a tentative schedule and is subject to change.
Download the draft agenda here.
Download the draft abstracts book here.
Travel and Accommodation
Participants are expected to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. Rooms can be booked through King’s College London; the Stamford Street Apartments are 20 min by foot or 10 min by bus (0.9 mile) to the UGM venue. There are also many other hotel options accessible by foot or public transportation.
Most places in London are easily accessible by public buses and the underground/rail/tram systems. It is cheapest to pay for transportation using contactless and Oyster cards; read more about transportation fares here.
Citizens of several countries may travel to the United Kingdom to attend a meeting without obtaining a visa. Please visit the gov.uk website for more information about travel visas. Attendees requiring a letter clarifying the purpose of travel should contact the MDAnalysis project manager.
Meals
Food and beverages will be provided where noted on the agenda (i.e., Coffee Break, Lunch, Reception). For mealtimes that are not listed, we encourage you to explore London to check out England’s cuisine options! We have also compiled a few suggestions below.
| Restaurant (food type) | Location | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Arcade Cafe (cafe) | Ground floor of Bush House, 30 Aldwych | https://www.accessable.co.uk/king-s-college-london/strand-campus/access-guides/bush-house-arcade |
| Greggs (baked goods, fast food, coffee) | 134 Strand | https://www.greggs.co.uk/ |
| Leon (fast food, coffee) | 135 Strand | https://leon.co/ |
| Ole & Steen (baked goods, sandwiches, coffee) | 351-353 Strand | https://oleandsteen.co.uk/ |
| WatchHouse Somerset House (cafe) | Somerset House East Wing | https://watchhouse.com/ |
| Pizza Express (fast food, pizza) | 147 Strand | https://www.pizzaexpress.com/ |
| Franco Manca (pizza) | 1-5 Catherine St. | https://www.francomanca.co.uk/ |
| Wasabi (fast food, sushi) | 19 Kingsway | https://www.wasabi.uk.com/ |
| Eat Tokyo (Japanese) | 27 Catherine St. | https://www.eattokyo.co.uk/ |
| Roka (Japanese) | 71 Aldwych | https://www.rokarestaurant.com/en |
| Temple Brew House (pub) | 46 Essex St., Temple | https://www.templebrewhouse.com/ |
Health and Safety
We are committed to providing a safe, comfortable, and healthy environment for the MDAnalysis UGM and have looked to local and international entities and other organizations in the open source community to develop onsite safety measures for UGM attendees.
Testing
A limited number of rapid self-tests will be made available at check-in for those who would like to test themselves for COVID-19 during the meeting.
Testing Positive for COVID-19
Individuals who are COVID-positive should not attend the UGM. If you receive a positive COVID-19 test result during the UGM, please notify the MDAnalysis UGM organizing committee and do not return to the event while you are still COVID-positive.
Face Coverings
Face coverings are not required, but are welcomed. We view face coverings as a personal choice and will support attendees in their choice to wear or not to wear a face covering.
Social Distancing and Hygiene
While we will be unable to enforce social distancing guidelines during the UGM, there is extra seating capacity at the venue that allows for voluntary distancing. At check-in, you will have the option to indicate your comfort level with social distancing on your name tag.
Code of Conduct
All members of the MDAnalysis community and participants in this UGM are expected to abide by the MDAnalysis Code of Conduct (CoC).
If you are attending the UGM and wish to make a report, you may contact the CoC Committee members or other event staff/organizers so that they can take any appropriate immediate response. If you would prefer not to do that, please submit a report to MDAnalysis.
Who to Contact
If you have any questions or special requests related to the UGM, you may contact the organizing committee.
Sponsors
A special thanks to our supporters:
