Expansion of the ‘Getting Started in Cryo-EM’ course into a comprehensive theory and practice curriculum

项目摘要 低温电子显微镜（Cryogenic electron microscopy，cryo-EM）是一种快速发展的结构生物学技术。而 兴奋和对技术的需求很高，培训cryo-EM从业人员的步伐远远落后。 有效的培训计划的发展有两个主要障碍：（1）潜在的学习者来 从广泛的背景和职业阶段，从研究生到建立结构 生物学家;和（2）学习冷冻EM需要许多小时的动手“背后的方向盘”的培训， 学习者在自己的学校往往无法获得昂贵的专门设备。虽然一些 虽然存在cryoEM的实践学校，但他们每年只培训少数学生，而对 技术需要更多的数量级。讲习班招收了更多的学生，但时间太短，无法教授所有人 缺乏必要的理论，缺乏实践的成分。为了培养一支熟练的冷冻EM从业人员队伍， 在这里，我建议扩展我成功的“开始在冷冻EM”视频讲座，并创建一个 全面的在线课程，涵盖所有主要冷冻EM模式的理论和实践，包括 cryo-EM单粒子重建（SPR）、电子冷冻层析成像（cryo-ET）和微晶电子 衍射（micro-ED）。该课程将包括数十小时的新视频和支持 最大限度地发挥这些视频的作用所需的材料。更具体地说，我和我的同事将 制作新的视频，教授冷冻ET的理论和实践（包括特殊的样品制备问题， 相关的光学和电子显微镜和冷冻FIB研磨），微ED和设施管理/高级 话题我们还将制作视频，介绍冷冻EM图像处理的基本原理，并准备 学生从我们的材料移动到专门的教程已经提供了几个流行的图像 处理包裹。我们还将创建辅助材料，包括家庭作业问题，开放式和 多项选择题，培训手册与具体的标准化实践练习，并计划 培训项目。与来自国家低温电磁服务中心的工作人员和我的同事一起， 发展计划的获奖者，我将努力开发一个“功勋徽章”系统，以认证冷冻EM从业者 具体的技能和工具。材料将被设计成可以混合和匹配的模块， 满足学习者的特殊需求。结合在用户的家庭设施或 国家低温电磁服务中心，课程将提供一切学生需要了解的理论 并开始练习他们想要的冷冻电镜技术。

Project Summary Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a rapidly emerging technology for structural biology. While excitement and demand for the technology are high, the pace of training cryo-EM practitioners lags far behind. There are two major hurdles to the development of effective training programs: (1) potential learners come from a wide range of backgrounds and career stages, from graduate students to established structural biologists; and (2) learning cryo-EM requires many hours of hands-on “behind the wheel” training on specialized, expensive equipment that is often unavailable to learners at their home institutions. While some hands-on schools exist for cryoEM, they train only a handful of students a year, while demand for the technique requires orders of magnitude more. Workshops enroll more students, but are too short to teach all the necessary theory and lack a hands-on component. To train a skilled workforce of cryo-EM practitioners, here I propose to expand upon my successful “Getting Started in Cryo-EM” video lectures and create a comprehensive online curriculum covering the theory and practice of all major cryo-EM modalities including cryo-EM single particle reconstruction (SPR), electron cryotomography (cryo-ET) and microcrystal electron diffraction (micro-ED). This curriculum will include many tens of hours of new videos and also the supporting materials needed to maximize the usefulness of these videos. More specifically, my colleagues and I will produce new videos teaching the theory and practice of cryo-ET (including special sample prep issues like correlated light and electron microscopy and cryo-FIB milling), micro-ED, and facility management/advanced topics. We will also produce videos that introduce basic principles of cryo-EM image processing and prepare students to move from our materials to the specialized tutorials already available for several popular image processing packages. We will also create supporting materials including homework problems, open-ended and multiple-choice exam questions, training manuals with specific standardized practice exercises, and plans for training programs. Together with staff from the national cryo-EM service centers and my fellow curriculum development program awardees, I will work to develop a “merit badge” system to certify cryo-EM practitioners on specific skills and instruments. Materials will be designed in modules that can be mixed and matched to meet the specific needs of the learner. In conjunction with supervised training at a user’s home facility or national cryo-EM service center, the curriculum will offer everything a student needs to understand the theory of, and begin practicing, their desired cryo-EM technique.