Instruct-ERIC is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure comprising 15 member states, making high-end technologies and methods in structural biology available to users. It currently operates eleven Centres to provide high-end technologies and methods in structural biology to academic and industrial users. Instruct Centres are open to applications from academic and industry scientists, with funding available to academic researchers from Instruct Member Countries and Organisations.

Since January 2021, EMBL sites in Grenoble, Hamburg and Heidelberg form the newest Instruct Centre. The new centre offers its users access to a broad range of state-of-the-art facilities.

Instruct-ERIC supported access to Cryo-EM at EMBL Heidelberg

EMBL Heidelberg hosts a world-leading cryo-electron microscopy service platform, offering access to state-of-the-art equipment for structure determination projects. The platform specialises in high-resolution TEM data acquisition using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography, as well as correlative cryo-electron tomography. EMBL staff provide extensive support with project planning, sample preparation, microscope selection and operation, including full service sample handling and data collection. From 2021, the cryo-electron microscopy service platform will extend its services as part of the EMBL Imaging Centre to provide imaging services across different scales of resolution, from molecules to organisms.

Researchers from Instruct-ERIC member countries can apply to access the cryo-electron microscopy platform in Heidelberg. Instruct-ERIC provides a contribution towards travel and accommodation during the user visit to the Instruct centre; while a contribution towards consumables and daily instrument costs during the access is provided directly to the facility.

For more information on what Instruct-ERIC pays for, consult Funding for Access.