A cryo-electron microscope for structural biology, including single-particle and tomography, at KCL.

生物分子的表征，特别是蛋白质，在分子水平上，对于生物过程的基本理解以及新药开发至关重要。特别是，确定这些蛋白质如何相互作用（蛋白质之间，以及与DNA，脂质，糖，药物等）的原子细节的能力，或者它们的结构在活动期间如何变化，对于破译它们的功能至关重要。近年来，电子显微镜已成为获取此类分子信息的主要方法，2017年诺贝尔化学奖对该方法先驱的表彰凸显了这一点。我们寻求获得这样一台电子显微镜，这将使KCL获得利用这种新兴技术的能力。这台仪器将使我们不仅能够发展我们在KCL的现有研究，而且还将有助于开发新的研究途径，并为下一代生物分子科学家的培训。此外，我们寻求购买的仪器的一个核心方面是，它不仅可以单独获得蛋白质的分子细节，而且可以在其生物功能的背景下观察它们。这将使我们的研究跨越不同的尺度，从分子到细胞。特别是，我们将在研究工作中广泛使用该设备，以了解与细菌毒力和抗生素耐药性、病毒发病机制（包括SARS-CoV-2）、癌症和肿瘤发病机制以及心血管疾病有关的蛋白质。

The characterization of biomolecules, and proteins in particular, at the molecular level, is critical for the fundamental understanding of biological processes, as well as for new drug development. In particular, the capacity to determine the atomic details of how such proteins interact (between proteins, but also with DNA, lipids, sugars, drugs etc.), or how their architecture changes during their activity, is essential to decipher their function.In recent years, Electron microscopy has become the main method to obtain such molecular information, as highlighted by the 2017 Nobel prize in Chemistry to the pioneers of the methodology. We seek to acquire such an electron microscope, which will permit KCL to gain the capacity to make use of this emerging technology. This instrument will permit us to not only to develop our existing research at KCL, but will also be instrumental to develop new avenues of research, and for the training of the next generation of biomolecular scientists. In addition, a central aspect of the instrument we seek to purchase, is that it allows not only to gain molecular details of proteins in isolation, but also to observe them in the context of their biological function. This will permit us to bridge our studies across scales, from molecules to cells. In particular, we will use this equipment extensively in our research efforts to understand proteins involved in bacterial virulence and antibiotic resistance, viral pathogenesis (including SARS-CoV-2), cancer and tumour pathogenesis, and cardiovascular diseases.