MRI-R2 Consortium: Development of an 8kx8k pixel direct detection CMOS camera with single electron counting for cryoEM

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This Major Research Instrumentation-Recovery and Reinvestment (MRI-R2) award funds the development of an 8kx8k pixel direct detection CMOS camera with single electron quantized detection for high-resolution single particle cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). The new camera system will enable high frame readout rates, with extreme sensitivity and high resolution. Because it uses so little material and does not require crystals, single particle cryoEM has become an indispensable tool for studying the three-dimensional (3D) structures of complex biological assemblies, providing critical information not obtainable by more traditional methods such as x-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy. The camera development project will be coordinated through collaborations among UCSF, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and Gatan, Inc., a company specializing in EM cameras and peripherals. The camera will benefit a large number of research projects and improve the training prospects for 15-25 students and postdoctoral fellows in advanced cryoEM technology. UCSF PIs are also active participants in summer research programs and have been hosting undergraduates in their labs to provide research opportunities with advanced technologies. Performance and availability of the camera will be widely disseminated through a web site, in publications, and through presentations at local and international meetings. Commercialization of the new technology may lead to even wider dissemination of similar devices.