Abstract

StanfordUniversityandtheSLACNationalAcceleratorLaboratory(SLAC)proposetohostaNationalCenter forCryoelectronMicroscopy?TheStanford-SLACCryoEMCenter(S2C2)?tomeettheemergingnational needforcryoEMasatoolforatomic-resolutionstructuralbiology.TheproposedS2C2will(1)establish,and keepattheforefront,state-of-the-artcryo-electronmicroscopestosatisfyusers?needsforatomic-resolution imagedata,(2)archiveimagedatawithappropriatemetadata,(3)providecomputingresourcestoassessdata qualityinrealtime,(4)informandrecruitpotentialusersacrosstheU.S.aboutthepublicaccessibilityofthe Center,(5)establishanopen,fair,transparentandefficientprocesstoselectuserproposalsbasedon scientificimpactandspecimenreadiness,regardlessofusers?geographiclocationsoraffiliations,(6)help userstoovercometechnicalhurdlesandenablethemtoobtainhigh-resolutioncryoEMstructuresquicklywith arigorousvalidationprotocol,(7)formandfacilitateausernetworktoexchangeinformationseamlessly,(8) trainuserstobecomeindependentcryoEMinvestigators,(9)integrateuserandtraineefeedbackintoa continuousloopoffacilityenhancement,and(10)optimizeoperationstoachievetheabovetaskseffectively andefficiently.Dr.WahChiu,theContactPI,hasdecadesofexperiencedevelopinghigh-resolutioncryoEM technologiesanddirectingresearchandtrainingenterprisesacrossmultipleinstitutions.Drs.MichaelSchmid, GeorgiosSkiniotis ,andBrittHedman,alsoPIsoftheCenter,bringcomplementaryexpertiseincryoEM, structuralbiology,andmanagementandoperationoflarge-scalenationaluserfacilities.ACenterDirectorof Operations,threeskilledcryoEMspecialists,atechnicalassistant,andauserfacilityadministratorwillcarry outtheS2C2?sday-to-dayoperations,includingdatacollection,qualityassessment,andcross-training.This S2C2willresideinanewbuildingatSLAC.ItwillleverageSLAC?sexpertiseinservingthousandsofuserseach yearatitsrenownedX-raysynchrotronandfreeelectronlaseruserfacilities.AnAdvisoryCommittee comprisedofexternalexpertscientistsaswellasuserrepresentativeswillprovideadviceregardingS2C2 operationsanddevelopment.OurCenterwillbuildontheuniquestrengthsandsupportfromStanfordand SLAC,andwillcreateauniqueenvironmentthatcombineshighthroughputcryoEMdatagenerationwith trainingthenextgenerationofcryoEMscientists.

Public Health Relevance

Statement StanfordUniversityandtheSLACNationalAcceleratorLaboratoryproposetoestablish aNationalCryoelectronMicroscopy(cryoEM)Centertomeettheemergingnational needforcryoEMasastructuralbiologytool.TheCenterfacilitywillenableexternal userstocollectimagedataforatomicresolutionstructuredeterminationonsystemsof importancetohumanhealth.TheCenterwillofferacomprehensiveprogramtotrain andcross-trainscientists,regardlessoftheirinstitutionalaffiliations,tobecome independentcryoEMinvestigators.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Resource-Related Research Projects--Cooperative Agreements (U24)
Project #
5U24GM129541-02
Application #
9693260
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1)
Program Officer
Flicker, Paula F
Project Start
2018-05-01
Project End
2024-04-30
Budget Start
2019-05-01
Budget End
2020-04-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
Stanford University
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
009214214
City
Stanford
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94305