Latest eBIC news

We were pleased to host our annual Biological Cryo-Imaging (BCI) User Meeting on 23rd April at the East Midlands Conference Centre (EMCC) in Nottingham. This year’s event welcomed over 300 in-person delegates—our largest turnout to date—with more than 300 additional participants online. As always, the meeting offered an opportunity for attendees to stay informed about the latest developments at eBIC and B24, hear about recent research from our user community, engage with our scientific team, and contribute to discussions shaping the future direction of the eBIC/B24 beamlines.

This year, we hosted five interactive satellite sessions which provided attendees with the opportunity to select from multiple topics. These included correlative microscopy or electron diffraction capabilities offered at eBIC, or how to access expert guidance and state-of-the-art instrumentation for membrane protein structural biology at Harwell campus via MPL. Alternatively, attendees had the chance to share first experiences using HexAuFoil grids or to learn about the capabilities of the new ThermoFisher Krios 5 microscope.

Following the satellite sessions, we hosted a series of insightful keynote and eBIC/B24 user talks. We would like to thank our fantastic keynote speakers: David Sauer (University of Oxford), Valentina Loconte (B24, DLS), and Stephen Muench (The Astbury Centre, University of Leeds). We also would like to thank users of eBIC and B24 who presented their research, including David Waterman (STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory), Martin Rennie (University of Glasgow), and Sonia Rodriguez Fernandez (University of Cambridge). Finally, many thanks to our Diamond User Committee (DUC) representatives, Jamie Blaza (University of York) & Natasha Lukoyanova (Francis Crick Institute), for chairing an engaging and insightful User Meeting Discussion. This session provided valuable feedback from our user community, offering us a deeper understanding of how they utilise eBIC and B24, any barriers to access, as well as their expectations for the future.

To close the event, we enjoyed a Ceilidh hosted by Blackbeard's Tea Party in the evening. It was fantastic catching up with collaborators and the evening reception provided a great networking opportunity.

A big thank you to all our sponsors for making this event possible — CryoCloud, Dectris, Hammerspace, Nanosoft, Nuclera, SPT Labtech, Subangstrom, and ThermoFisher Scientific – your support is greatly appreciated. We would also like to thank Dave Farmer for offering up his brilliant photography skills for the event.

We extend our thanks to CCP-EM for holding the BCI User Meeting alongside the 11^th CCP-EM Spring Symposium (held on 24^th-25^th April). This Symposium brought together members of the cryo-EM community for two days of updates, discussion, and cutting-edge science. Attendees heard the latest developments from CCP-EM, eBIC, and EMDB/EMPIAR, setting the stage for a rich and diverse scientific programme.

The talks covered a wide range of exciting topics, including but not limited to heterogeneity analysis, using laser phase plates, FIB/SEM workflows, new software tools, and advances in time-resolved cryo-EM. With an excellent lineup of speakers, the event provided valuable insights and sparked lively discussion throughout the day.

The symposium also featured two poster sessions, highlighting a wide array of exciting and innovative research being carried out across the cryo-EM community. eBIC student Tereza Večerková was awarded a poster prize at the conclusion of the CCPEM meeting. Tereza is a joint PhD student between eBIC, the Membrane Protein Laboratory and the University of Oxford and was awarded one of the two general poster prizes for her poster on ‘Structural studies of a small MFS transporter using single particle cryo-EM’.

At this year’s Spring Symposium, we were honoured to present one of the poster prizes in memory of our dear friend and colleague, Dr Karen Davies, who sadly passed away on 10^th February 2025. Karen was a brilliant scientist, a generous mentor, and a deeply valued member of both eBIC and the wider cryo-EM community. To celebrate Karen’s life and legacy, a dedicated symposium will be held in her honour on 21st April 2026 at the EMCC in Nottingham. This event will take place ahead of the BCI User Meeting and CCP-EM Spring Symposium (22^nd-24^th April), and we warmly invite you to join us in remembering Karen and the extraordinary impact she made.

Link to CCP-EM Symposium recordings: 2025 Spring Symposium XI – CCP-EM

7th May 2025

March saw the successful completion of the very popular Cryo-EM in Structural Biology workshop hosted by eBIC at Diamond Light Source and the Astbury Biostructure Lab at the University of Leeds. With a total of 24 in-person participants and over 350 registered online attendees, the course offered students and researchers who are new to the field, the foundations in the theory and practise of Cryo-EM. With topics ranging from sample prep to image formation and data processing to model building as well as data processing demonstrations for Single Particle Analysis (SPA) and Tomography, on-site and online participants benefited from the collective knowledge of our expert instructors and a chance to pose questions on related topics and their own research projects. On-site participants also participated in practical sessions for sample vitrification as well as setting data collection for SPA and Tomography.

We want to thank everyone who participated and all our instructors for helping deliver another great course for the structural biology community. We also want to thank the organisers at eBIC and Leeds whose hard work makes these events possible. Finally, a big thanks to the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council for funding these training events to train the next generation of structural biologists.

For those who could not attend the lectures and demos, recordings of these can be found here:

Link to recordings - Wellcome-MRC Cryo-EM Course March 3rd-7th 2025

28th March 2025

Throughout this year, Electron Microscopy Scientists at eBIC, Diamond Light Source have been working with the latest cryoEM grids (HexAuFoil) from Quantifoil, to develop optimised workflows for user sessions at eBIC. HexAuFoils are an advanced EM sample support matrix developed by Chris Russo and Katerina Naydenova at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge [1]. HexAuFoil grids provide a number of advantages over traditional support matrices including more uniform ice thickness over the grid and reduced beam induced motion.

To support this and disseminate knowledge to the wider EM community, Dr Peter Harrison from eBIC participated in a Quantifoil hosted webinar explaining the optimal set-up of microscopes and data acquisition software when collecting data using HexAuFoil grids. Moreover, Peter has demonstrated how to plunge freeze HexAuFoil grids, which can be seen on the Quantifoil website [2].

HexAuFoil grids are supported on all user sessions at eBIC and users can also request plasmon imaging to aid in the identification of ice thickness [3].

1. Integrated wafer-scale manufacturing of electron cryo-microscopy specimen supports.
     Naydenova, K. and Russo, CJ. Ultramicroscopy. Vol 232 (113396).

2. Link to the Quantifoil website and YouTube video link: Loading your samples on HexAuFoil grids.

3. Light ‘Em up: Efficient Screening of Gold Foil Grids in Cryo-EM. Hagen, W. Front. Mol.
     Biosci., Vol 9 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2022.912363

6th December 2024

This October, eBIC at Diamond Light Source proudly hosted the highly anticipated Wellcome-MRC in situ Cryo-ET Workshop 2024. Supported by the generous Wellcome/MRC CryoEM training grant, this event was a collaborative effort among leading UK institutions, including Diamond Light Source, the Astbury Biostructure Lab at the University of Leeds, the Scottish Centre for Macromolecular Imaging at the University of Glasgow, the Midlands Regional Cryo-EM Facility at the University of Leicester, and Birkbeck College at the University of London.

From October 14th to 18th, the workshop brought together a select group of international participants for an immersive in-person experience, alongside over 350 online attendees from more than 20 countries, with strong engagement from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia. This diverse gathering provided a vibrant platform to delve into the groundbreaking field of in situ cryo-electron tomography (Cryo-ET), covering techniques essential for understanding molecular structures within their natural cellular contexts. Participants explored key aspects of in situ Cryo-ET, including sample preparation, FIB milling, lamella creation, and data assessment.

Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with many highlighting the workshop’s unique balance between theoretical lectures and practical demonstrations. By deepening expertise in in situ Cryo-ET and opening lectures to the global community, the workshop represents a significant stride toward refining methodologies that elucidate molecular structures in their native environments. This is especially crucial for studying complex biological processes, as in situ Cryo-ET enables scientists to observe cellular targets in their native cellular context. It is a vital tool for researchers aiming to unravel the intricacies of life at the molecular level, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries in numerous fields, including infection studies, cancer research, neurodegenerative disease mechanisms, developmental biology, virology, and drug discovery.

4th November 2024

Prof. Sir Dave Stuart presenting introduction and aims

Date: 19^th July 2024
Location: The Royal Society (London)

The UK CryoEM Community Meeting jointly organised by Diamond Light Source and Instruct-ERIC, brought together the UK structural biology community along with relevant funders. The goal was to provide a forum for highlighting science opportunities in the field of cryo-electron microscopy (CroyEM). The meeting aimed to create a white paper forming the basis for a 10-year strategic roadmap for CryoEM in the UK. Addressing funding needs was a key focus.

The meeting attracted a diverse mix of attendees, including both senior and young researchers and featured a selection of talks, fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration. Morning presentations chaired by Helen Saibil, began with an introduction and setting of aims from David Stuart, and afternoon sessions were chaired by Xiaodong Zhang from Imperial College London.

Speaker sessions through the day included presentations covering national centres and training, CL3, regional centres and small labs, industry perspectives, international status and opportunities, Single Particle Analysis, Electron Tomography, Software/Data management including AI.

Following each speaker session there were very productive discussions, followed by a final session that involved a series of focused round table discussions, that were summarised at the end of the meeting. The general consensus reached was that a well-equipped national facility as well as well-equipped regional centres and small labs will be essential in maintaining the UK as a world leader in cryoEM related research and development.

For more details on the agenda for the day, presentation topics and speakers, please visit the official Diamond event announcement: UK CryoEM Community Meeting – July 2024.

 14th August 2024