Molecular Electron Microscopy Core Facility Improvements

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This G20 proposal from the University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVA SOM) requests $2.1 M to upgrade and consolidate the UVA SOM electron microscopy (EM) resources into a Molecular Electron Microscopy Core (MEMC) facility. We estimate that the associated design, construction, and maintenance work will create or maintain ~45 jobs for the community, and create and/or maintain up to 4 positions for researchers, computer programmers, and housekeeping staff. There are currently four electron microscopes in use within the SOM for structural biology. All of these are at least ten years old, and one has been declared obsolete by the manufacturer and can no longer be properly maintained. Two modern, high-performance electron microscopes have already been purchased -- a robotic FEI Titan Krios and an FEI F20. These electron microscopes are designed for recording high-resolution images of biological macromolecules by electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM), in which the specimen is maintained in frozen, vitrified aqueous buffer, thereby preserving native biological structure. The current locations for the EM facilities in Old Jordan Hall and the Snyder Building not only lack the requisite ceiling height and load-bearing capacity, but also exhibit too much vibration and electromagnetic interference for the new microscopes to operate within specifications. The proposal will replace the scattered EM laboratories with one central MEMC laboratory located in the Life Sciences Annex adjacent to the Snyder Translational Science Building at the Fontaine Research Campus. The 2,100 sq ft MEMC facility will contain two environmentally regulated, electromagnetically shielded, and acoustically isolated microscope rooms. In addition, there will be a control room for remote operation of the microscopes. Adjoining laboratory space will allow on-site sample preparation, and a darkroom will be available for film development. The new location is necessary to accommodate the height of the new state-of-the-art FEI Titan Krios microscope and to meet the stringent requirements for optimal performance. The MEMC facility will be co-directed by Dr. Mark Yeager, Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics and Dr. Edward Egelman, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. The improvements provided by the MEMC facility will (1) enhance the quality of research at UVA, (2) increase scientific productivity, (3) foster communication, interactions and collaboration amongst scientists, (4) boost the ability of UVA to attract and maintain premier faculty and students, and (5) strengthen the competitiveness of our faculty for funding. The MEMC facility will not only be available to SOM faculty members but also to other scientists in other schools and departments at UVA. This will be a unique Core laboratory at UVA, and we envision that scientists throughout Virginia and the surrounding states will visit UVA to take advantage of such a cutting-edge laboratory for performing molecular resolution electron microscopy.