Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) has become a mainstream structural biology technique due to the reduced burden of sample preparation, the capacity to solve integral membrane protein complex structures, and the ability to visualize large structurally heterogeneous macromolecular complexes at high resolution. New users face a significant educational barrier: practitioners must understand concepts that range from biochemistry to the physics of electron microscopes to computational image alignment algorithms. Although there are cryoEM workshops currently available address these concepts with hands-on training, the limited capacity and intimate format results in substantial oversubscription and an inability to train new cryoEM users en masse. As such, there exists a significant gap in training materials and resources that help users understand, analyze, interpret, and validate cryoEM data and structure determination. To address this limitation, we have built an online educational platform focused on cryoEM data processing called ‘cryoEDU’. The cryoEDU platform allows users to submit simulated jobs and interact with cryoEM software using a cloud desktop environment. Importantly, users are not running real time algorithms, but instead, pull results from a precalculated results database containing nearly all conceivable outcomes. The cloud desktop enables users to make parameter choices and receive immediate results feedback, creating a new paradigm in cryoEM data analysis learning.
Source: Microscopy and Microanalysis
Authors: Michael A Cianfrocco, Mark A Herzik
Institutions: University of Michigan, University of California San Diego
Language: English
Subfield: Structural Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4401002632