The Scottish Macromolecular Imaging Centre (SMIC)

To understand the processes of life and disease, it is important to understand the shapes of biological molecules. Watson and Crick's ground-breaking work to understand the structure of DNA revolutionised our knowledge of the mechanisms by which traits are passed from parent to child in the form of genes.
Scotland has a thriving community of structural biologists engaged in research to understand the shapes of protein and DNA molecules, their interactions and functions. A powerful new technique has emerged in the past few years; cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM). This allows scientists to record images of assemblies, such as viruses or enzymes - the molecular machines that perform vital tasks within the cell. These images can be processed in the computer to determine the structure
of the objects at the atomic level. These structures then inform our understanding of how biological processes occur.
The Scottish Macromolecular Imaging Centre is a world-class cryoEM research facility, founded by a partnership of Scottish Universities - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and St. Andrews. It acts as a hub for a network of expert scientists, fostering new collaborations and training programmes to ensure scientific excellence and a new generation of highly skilled young structural biologists."

Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy is revolutionising the field of structural biology, allowing researchers to determine rapidly the structures of macromolecular assemblies at close to atomic resolution. Furthermore, developments in cryogenic imaging of the cell are beginning to realise the exciting prospect of in-situ structure determination.
We propose to establish a world-class centre for CryoEM with the primary objective of supporting macromolecular structure determination for life-science researchers in Scotland and northern England. Based in the Medical Research Council - University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR), the Scottish Macromolecular Imaging Centre (SMIC) will be equipped with a 300 keV automated cryo-transmission electron microscope that is fitted with a direct electron detection camera, an energy filter and phase plates for high-contrast imaging. The centre will be founded by a consortium of Scottish Universities and serve as the hub for a network of structural biology researchers, fostering collaborations, training programmes and mutual support. Existing cryoEM resources at Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh will act as feeder sites with expert technical support to facilitate project development before presentation at SMIC. Oversight of SMIC by a management group will ensure that highest quality outputs are achieved and that the facility is operated with maximum efficiency.