C07 Intermediate ⏱ 4 Weeks 🎯 20 hours 📡 8 live sessions
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Structural Bioinformatics

Predict protein structures. Dock drugs. Discover molecules.

From a protein sequence to a 3D drug-target complex — computationally. Use AlphaFold2 and AutoDock Vina to do in hours what crystallographers spent years on. This course bridges structural biology and drug discovery.

Enrol Now → View Curriculum
₦28,000 ≈ $34
4 WeeksDuration
20hContact Hours
8Live Sessions
4Topic Blocks
11Tools Covered

Curriculum

What you will learn

Every session is hands-on. Every topic comes with practical exercises using real biological datasets.

Week 1

Protein Structure & Prediction

  • Structure hierarchy: 1° → 2° → 3° → 4°; Ramachandran plots
  • Homology modelling: HHpred template search → Swiss-Model
  • Model quality: DOPE, QMEAN, MolProbity Ramachandran
  • AlphaFold2: Evoformer architecture, pLDDT, PAE plot interpretation
Week 2

PDB, CATH, SCOP & Structural Analysis

  • PDB entry anatomy: experiment type, resolution, R-factor, biological assembly
  • CATH and SCOP classification hierarchies
  • Structural alignment: TM-align, Dali server, RMSD calculation
  • Intrinsically disordered proteins: IUPred, PONDR, functional roles
Week 3

Drug Target Identification & Binding Sites

  • Druggability assessment: CASTp, FPocket, SiteMap
  • Ligand preparation: SMILES, SDF, protonation, 3D conformers (OpenBabel)
  • Protein-ligand interaction types: H-bonds, hydrophobic, pi-stacking, salt bridges
  • PLIP: Protein-Ligand Interaction Profiler — full fingerprint analysis
Week 4

Molecular Docking & Virtual Screening

  • AutoDock Vina: scoring function, search algorithm, exhaustiveness
  • Receptor and ligand preparation with ADFRsuite
  • Grid box definition, running docking, interpreting binding energies
  • Docking validation: redocking RMSD; enrichment factor for VS campaigns

Outcomes

What you will be able to do

Concrete, measurable skills you will take away and use immediately in your research or career.

Tools & Software

Swiss-ModelRaptorXAlphaFold2 / ColabFoldAutoDock VinaADFRsuitePyMOLChimeraXOpenBabelPLIPPDBCATH

Course Details

Everything included

One payment — full access to all course materials, live sessions, and community.

What's included

  • 8 live sessions
  • 20 hours content
  • Docking pipeline scripts
  • AlphaFold2 tutorial notebook
  • Course certificate
  • Community access
  • Lifetime recordings

Who this course is for

Pharmaceutical researchers · Drug discovery scientists · Structural biologists · Biochemists working on enzyme mechanisms

Prerequisites

C01–C03. C06 (Python) is recommended. Basic structural biology helps.

Instructor

Your instructor

N

Dr. Ashraf Akintola

PhD Biomedical Convergence Science and Technology | Bioinformatics Researcher & Educator

With close to a decade of research experience in genomics and computational biology, Dr. Noble has trained researchers across 40+ countries. His hands-on teaching philosophy has made noblekinbio one of Africa's leading bioinformatics education platforms.

What students say

Trusted by researchers worldwide

Students from 40+ countries have transformed their careers with noblekinbio courses.

"This program changed how I do research. I went from copy-pasting BLAST results to writing my own pipelines. The hands-on approach is unlike any other bioinformatics course I have taken."

CO

Chioma Okonkwo

PhD Student, University of Lagos

"Dr. Noble explains complex algorithms in a way that finally clicks. I completed C04 and C05 and immediately applied them to our malaria genomics project."

EA

Emmanuel Asante

Bioinformatics Analyst, Ghana Health Service

"I was sceptical about an online course being truly hands-on. I was wrong. Every session I was actually running code, not just watching. The Snakemake module alone was worth it."

FA

Fatima Al-Rashidi

Molecular Biology Researcher, Jordan

"C10 gave me the drug discovery computational skills I needed to transition from wet lab to computational research. I have already applied QSAR modelling in my current role."

OA

Oluwaseun Adeyemi

Pharmaceutical Scientist, Nigeria

FAQ

Common questions

How does this work with Selar? +
After clicking "Enrol Now", you will be taken to our Selar checkout page. Pay securely with card, bank transfer, or Flutterwave. Once payment is confirmed, you immediately receive access to the course content and are added to our private student community.
Do I need to attend live sessions? +
Live sessions are strongly recommended for Q&A and community, but all sessions are recorded and available in your Selar account within 24 hours. You have lifetime access to all recordings.
What if the course is not right for me? +
We offer a 7-day refund policy. If you have attended fewer than 2 sessions and completed fewer than 20% of the course, contact us at support@noblekinbio.com for a full refund.
Can I take courses in any order? +
Some courses have prerequisites (shown above). We recommend following the program sequence, but motivated students can discuss exceptions with the instructor via the community.
Is there a group discount? +
Yes — teams of 3+ receive 20% off. Contact us at enrol@noblekinbio.com with your team details.
Will I receive a certificate? +
Yes. Upon completing all assessments, you receive a digital certificate from noblekinbio.com. Completing all 13 courses earns the full Bioinformatics Certificate Program credential.
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Ready to start C07?

Predict protein structures. Dock drugs. Discover molecules. Enrol today and get instant access to all course materials.

₦28,000 | $34 USD
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