A regional cryoEM facility at the University of York (360G-Wellcome-206161_Z_17_Z)

The world-renowned York Structural Biology Laboratory (YSBL) plans to expand its technical capability beyond the established techniques of X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy into cryo-electron microscopy with a regional CryoEM hub, opening up structural biology on large, complex systems to a diverse regional user base. Our bid is aligned with partners in Newcastle and Durham, and will dovetail with complementary regional capabilities in Leeds and Sheffield, and with the national facility, eBIC (see letters of support). Key goals include viral structure determination, dissection of supramolecular assemblies and motors, and exploitation of major health-related protein-protein complexes in mammalian systems and bacteria. CryoEM in York will meet growing demand for which existing regional capacity is insufficient. It will also build upon YSBL’s significant crystallographic methods expertise, providing a focus for pioneering new methods developments in partnership with eBIC. We propose a cost-effective and sustainable 200 kV microscope, which will enable both single-particle work and screening of more challenging tomography samples for subsequent analysis at 300kV facilities. The University of York is supporting the bid by establishing a professorial-level CryoEM post, allocating the time of an Experimental Officer, investing a £1M philanthropic donation and committing £1.7M for the necessary building infrastructure.