Cryo electron microscope setup

• Subject Area: Basic Research in Biology and Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 357484240

The University of Cologne (UoC) succeeded in the nomination of Prof. Jijie Chai as Humboldt Professor, the most prestige’s scientific award in Germany. Prof. Chai is an outstanding structural biologist and his interdisciplinary work in the field of innate imune receptors is groundbreaking. With his recruitment, the UoC strengthens the field of molecular and structural biology by building on established collaborations between the Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding Research as well as both Clusters of Excellence (CECAD, CEPLAS) hosted by the UoC. Classical protein crystallography is established at the UoC at the Institute of Biochemistry while the urgent need for tools to study large, complex, and biologically important protein complexes has been rapidly grown in recent years. With the new Cryo-EM the UoC expects to provide many researchers (projects by 9 research groups from two Faculties) access to the most rapidly growing technology in macromolecular structure analyses. Prof. Chai will facilitate the implementation of this new technique at the UoC given his dual background in protein crystallography and cryo-EM. Relevant research areas that will immediately use Cryo-EM will be NOD-like receptors, plant receptor kinases, soluble and membrane bound proteases, multi-cofactor metalloenzymes, synaptic proteins and receptors, protein kinases, and structure/biogenesis of centrosomes.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Cryo electron microscope setup
• Instrumentation Group: 5100 Elektronenmikroskope (Transmission)
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Leader: Professor Dr. Jijie Chai