October 2019: MSU Hosts Symposium, Unveils $5M Cryo-EM Facility

Cryo-electron microscopy is becoming mainstream for studying molecular details such as the architecture of cells, viruses as well as nucleic acids, small molecules, and protein assemblies. Recent developments in microscope design and imaging hardware, automation, and advances in camera technology have greatly advanced the effectiveness of cryo-EM methods. We are now living in the area of the “Cryo-EM resolution revolution”. 

“The new Cryo-EM Core Facility makes available to MSU researchers the most powerful tool in biology since Next Generation DNA sequencing,” said Dave DeWitt, senior associate dean for budget, planning, research and administration in the MSU College of Natural Science. 

MSU hosted a symposium on October 4-5, 2019, which featured 12 speakers and drew researchers from several universities, including the University of Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Cornell, and Harvard.

Kristin Parent, Associate Professor, and J.K. Billman, Jr., M.D. Endowed Research Professor, is the director of the new facility, which is located near the corner of Bogue and Service Roads on the southeast edge of the MSU campus.

 

Photo of students around Cryo-EM