- To provide equipment, training and expertise for imaging of macromolecular structures using cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryoEM) coupled with single particle reconstruction (SPR).
- To support creating and training a cryoEM-SPR scientific community at UC Davis dedicated to learning about, implementing and evaluating methods and approaches and to share that information with interested parties.
- To provide cryoEM-SPR infrastructure and expertise to assist in grant-supported research on the UCD campus.
- To provide a forum and resources for theoretical and practical education about cryoEM and SPR.
Specifically, the BioEM Facility aims to provide users with the ability to evaluate the suitability of macromolecular samples for cryoEM imaging using SPR by training and infrastructure in
- sample preparation
- preliminary negative-stain and cryoEM evaluation
- high-throughput image data collection
- generation of preliminary 2-D class averages for evaluation purposes.
This level of support should be sufficient to provide preliminary data for funding proposals.