mx cryo-em computational software-dev ccp4-community
Info
CCP4 (Collaborative Computational Project No. 4) is a UK-led international consortium developing, distributing, and maintaining software for macromolecular crystallography - the European counterpart to the US-based PHENIX Consortium. CCP4’s physical core is at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory / Research Complex at Harwell, co-located with Diamond Light Source, with an extended developer community spanning York, Cambridge, Newcastle, Southampton, Glasgow, Liverpool, and international sites in Hamburg and beyond. Governed by a Working Group structure and Executive Committee.
Why this page matters
Governance: Executive Committee
| Member | Affiliation | Role / Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Ivo Tews | University of Southampton | 2023-28 Chair of Working Group 1 (MX software) |
| Jon Agirre | University of York YSBL | Working Group 2 co-chair; Privateer |
| Arnaud Basle | Newcastle University | - |
| Helen Walden | University of Glasgow | Ubiquitin / Fanconi Anemia biology |
| Briony Yorke | - | - |
| Helen Ginn | DESY / University of Hamburg | Software methods; Helmholtz Young Investigator |
| David Brown | University of Kent / Charles River | - |
| Judit Debreczeni | - | - |
| Keith Wilson | University of York | Founding York figure |
| Mike Hough | - | - |
| Garib Murshudov | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology | REFMAC5 |
| Eugene B. Krissinel | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | CCP4 project leader |
| Dan Rigden | University of Liverpool | AMPLE |
| Martin Noble | Newcastle University | CCP4i2 lead; CDK inhibitor structural biology |
| Martyn Winn | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | Former Group Leader (2007-); CCP-EM co-founder |
| Charles Ballard | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | CCP4 Core Team; CCP4 Cloud |
CCP4 Funded Developers
| Developer | Affiliation | Tool / Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Ballard | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | Core distribution / CCP4 Cloud |
| J. Javier Burgos-Mármol | - | - |
| Maria Fando | - | - |
| Luis Fuentes-Montero | - | - |
| Huw Jenkins | - | - |
| Ronan Keegan | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory / Liverpool | MrBUMP |
| Eugene B. Krissinel | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | CCP4 Cloud, Gesamt, PISA |
| Andrey Lebedev | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | Zanuda; CCP4 Cloud |
| Stuart McNicholas | University of York | Moorhen / CCP4mg / CCP4i2 |
| Adam Simpkin | University of Liverpool | SIMBAD; AlphaFold integration |
| Ville Uski | - | - |
| David Waterman | STFC / CCP4 | DIALS refinement |
| Martyn Winn | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | TLS; MrBUMP; AMPLE |
| Jools Wills | - | - |
Broader developer community (selected)
| Contributor | Affiliation | Tool / Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Emsley | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology | Coot |
| Phil Evans | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology | POINTLESS / AIMLESS |
| Andrew Leslie | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology | MOSFLM |
| Eleanor Dodson | University of York | Founding York figure |
| Rob Nicholls | MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology | ProSMART; neutron REFMAC5 |
| Kevin Cowtan | University of York | Clipper, Buccaneer |
| Randy Read | University of Cambridge | Phaser |
| Robert Oeffner | University of Cambridge | Phaser |
| Robbie P. Joosten | Netherlands Cancer Institute | PDB-REDO |
| Joana Pereira | - | - |
| Andrea Thorn | University of Hamburg | AUSPEX / HARUSPEX |
| Navraj Pannu | Leiden University | CRANK SAD phasing |
Generational structure
| Role | Founders / senior generation | Current generation |
|---|---|---|
| Project leader | Eugene B. Krissinel (continuing) | Charles Ballard (core team), Martyn Winn (computational biology theme) |
| Molecular replacement | Randy Read (Phaser) | Ronan Keegan (MrBUMP), Adam Simpkin (SIMBAD), Dan Rigden (AMPLE) |
| Refinement | Garib Murshudov (REFMAC5) | Rob Nicholls (ProSMART; neutron REFMAC5) |
| Model building | Paul Emsley (Coot) | Stuart McNicholas (Moorhen web-Coot), Martin Noble (CCP4mg / CCP4i2) |
| Validation / glycans | Thomas Lütteke (pdb-care) | Jon Agirre (Privateer), Andrea Thorn (AUSPEX) |
| Data processing | Phil Evans / Andrew Leslie (POINTLESS, MOSFLM) | David Waterman (DIALS co-lead) |
| Working Group 1 chair | Eleanor Dodson / Keith Wilson historical | Ivo Tews (2023-28) |
| Working Group 2 co-chair | (historical) | Jon Agirre |
Physical cluster: Research Complex at Harwell
The CCP4 Core Team is co-located at the Research Complex at Harwell (RCaH) with Diamond Light Source and the CCP4 / MX infrastructure network:
- CCP4 core: Eugene B. Krissinel, Charles Ballard, Andrey Lebedev, Ronan Keegan, Martyn Winn
- Diamond Light Source MX: Gwyndaf Evans (DIALS co-lead), Martin Walsh (Life Sciences Deputy Director, wwPDB AC)
- DIALS UK side development
Key Relationships
- Parallel consortium: PHENIX Consortium (LBNL-led, US-based) covers the same software territory with a different governance model
- Shared foundation: Phaser is co-distributed by both CCP4 and PHENIX, so Randy Read and Airlie McCoy appear in both ecosystems
- Data processing: DIALS is a CCP4 / Diamond Light Source / LBNL joint effort
- Cryo-EM sibling: CCP-EM was co-founded in 2012 by Martyn Winn as a CCP4-analogous consortium for electron microscopy
Funding
- BBSRC — primary UK funder
- STFC — Rutherford Appleton Laboratory / Research Complex at Harwell infrastructure
- MRC — CCP-EM support
- EMBL — historical
Primary sources
- CCP4 People page: https://www.ccp4.ac.uk/about/people/
- 2023 CCP4 suite paper: “The CCP4 suite: integrative software for macromolecular crystallography” (Acta Cryst D, 2023)