UniProt is a comprehensive, expert-curated, publicly available database of protein sequence, function, and variation information.

In this webinar, we will give a basic introduction of programmatic access to UniProt using Python,  with examples also available in R. Following a brief introduction to UniProt services, where to find relevant documentation and help features, the webinar will focus on worked examples. These will include how to search and retrieve protein entries programmatically, how to filter for features of interest, and how to implement an advanced search using keywords. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.

Who is this course for?

This webinar is aimed at students or early career scientists who would like to begin using programmatic methods to access the UniProt database. A beginner proficiency in Python or R is required, however the webinar will cover principles that can be applied to other programming languages. Example code in both Python and R will be provided after the webinar. An undergraduate-level knowledge of protein biology will be useful.

For those requiring an introduction to the UniProt database, it is recommended they view ‘A guide to UniProt for students’ before this webinar: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/events/guide-uniprot-students-2025/
 

Outcomes

By the end of the webinar, you will be able to:

• Identify the different programmatic routes to access UniProt data and know how to pick the most appropriate for your workflow
• Find documentation and useful help articles to guide your programmatic access
• Retrieve full UniProtKB entries or specific fields using Python or R
• Filter entries by annotation types and other target characteristics

DOI: 10.6019/TOL.UniProt-ProgAccess-students-w.2025.00001.1

This webinar took place on 20 November 2025. Please click the 'Watch video' button to view the recording.