National instrumentation in cryo electron microscopy

The EquipEx+ France-Cryo-EM project strengthens cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM) in France and participates in the structuring of the national scientific community with the acquisition and operation of three new high-end cryo-EM at the National Centre for Biomedical Cryo-EM (CN-cryo, Strasbourg) and on two synchrotron sites (ESRF/IBS & SOLEIL). The recent "resolution revolution" in cryo-EM (2017 Nobel Prize) positions cryo- EM as the leading approach to explore the architecture of complex biological systems with many important biomedical or biotechnological applications.

France-Cryo-EM aims to: (i) structure access to cryo-EM at the national level and ensure better access for the French community (ii) position the community at the forefront of cryo-EM and integrative structural biology technologies with international visibility (iii) provide new knowledge on the structure-function relationships of macromolecular complexes and machineries in order to study molecular mechanisms under physiological or pathological conditions (iv) create the basis for new approaches to drug design with applications in biomedical research and human health (v) promote long-term academic employment in particular in universities and industry in this field.

The kick-off meeting of France-cryo-EM took place on February 22, 2022.

The purchase procedure for the 3 cryo-EM started in 2021. The three microscopes are operational and deliver peer reviewed access time to users.

A dedicated website to the project has been created EquipEx France-Cryo-EM, where all information about the project and how to access to the equipments are indicated.