The GW4 alliance opened a £3.7M facility for high resolution electron cryo-microscopy at the University of Bristol. The purchase of the state-of-the-art electron cryo-microscope was enabled by two Wellcome Trust Multi-User Equipment Grants awarded to a team of researchers from Universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter and Cardiff and co-investment from each GW4 partner. Image analysis is enabled by a high performance computer cluster funded by a BBSRC Alert 17 grant.

The facility provides access to cryo-microscopy and analysis tools to researchers from diverse disciplines across the Great West region and beyond, enabling them to study the molecular processes responsible for cell function or malfunction using single particle cryo-EM or cryo-tomography. This new capability will accelerate novel insights into human health and disease and attract the world’s most talented scientists to collaborate with the leading universities in the region.

The GW4 Cryo-EM Facility comprises a FEI Talos Arctica microscope, sample preparation equipment and data analysis suite housed in the Life Sciences Building at the University of Bristol, and is closely aligned with the Wolfson Bioimaging Facility.

Key contacts

Academic lead: Prof Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel

Technical specialists: Dr Ufuk Borucu

Chair of steering group: Dr Vicki Gold

Advisors: Prof Paul Verkade, Dr Mark Jepson and Mrs Judith Mantell