Celebrating 50 Years of the Protein Data Bank Archive
In 1971, the structural biology community established the single worldwide archive for macromolecular structure data–the Protein Data Bank (PDB). From its inception, the PDB has embraced a culture of open access, leading to its widespread use by the research community. PDB data are used by hundreds of data resources and millions of users exploring fundamental biology, energy, and biomedicine.
In 2021, RCSB PDB and the wwPDB celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the PDB with symposia, materials, and more.
- PDB50 Meetings and Symposia hosted by the wwPDB Foundation
- Sign up to receive meeting updates
- Inaugural event: A special symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Protein Data Bank (May 4-5, 2021). The virtual event will be recorded and made available to registered participants after the meeting.
Register now. - Transactions Symposium 2021: Function Follows Form: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Protein Data Bank (July 30-31, 2021).
This virtual event is part of the Annual Meeting of the American Crystallographic Association. - Bringing Molecular Structure to Life: 50 Years of the PDB (October 20-22, 2021) Virtual EMBL Conference.
- Learning from 50 years of the Protein Data Bank: A satellite symposium of the Biophysical Society of Japan (Nov 25-27, 2021)
- PDB50 at wwPDB.org
- Historical Overview of the PDB
- 2021 PDB50 Calendar and Virtual Meeting Backgrounds
- Molecule of the Month on PDB Pioneers (October 2011): a look at the dozen historic structures that set the foundation for the PDB archive
- Structural Biology and Nobel Prizes
- PDB50 logos: long (PNG | EPS) compact (PNG | EPS)
Journal Collections

How the PDB changed biology
Issue contains reviews that celebrates scientific areas profoundly touched by the creation of the PDB

The PDB in JBC
Collection of Journal of Biological Chemistry publications that highlights some seminal PDB structures