Cryo-EM

Welcome to the Cryo-EM Affinity Group!

What’s This Group About?

The Cryo-EM Affinity Group is a community of practice focused on supporting researchers and facilitators working with cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) across the Midwest. Cryo-EM is a rapidly growing set of experimental techniques for studying biological structures at scales ranging from entire cells down to individual proteins. These methods come with complex workflows that span various devices, data types, and computational platforms. Our goal is to bring together those facilitating cryo-EM research, from RCD professionals to core facility staff, to share lessons learned, collaborate on common challenges, and build a shared understanding of tools, workflows, and needs across institutions.

Group Members & Meeting Times

This group is open to anyone interested in supporting or advancing cryo-EM research, whether you’re in a research support role, running a facility, managing infrastructure, or conducting research.

Current Members:

• Jane Combs
• Scott Hampton
• Karen Tomko
• Brock Palen
• Dodi Heryadi
• Steve Bogol
• Jeremy Hallum
• Julia Simon

Meeting Format:

• Quarterly virtual meetings featuring invited speakers and peer sharing
• On-site gathering (tentatively planned at Purdue University) to explore real-world workflows and facility integration

Meeting times and calendar invites will be posted here once finalized.

What Can You Expect?

By participating in this group, you’ll:

• Connect with others supporting cryo-EM efforts across the region
• Hear from colleagues and guest presenters about challenges and approaches
• Share tools, workflows, and tips that have worked (or not!) in your context
• Help shape shared resources and community best practices

Whether you’re new to supporting cryo-EM or already deep in the weeds, this group is meant to be a collaborative, low-pressure space to learn and share.

What Topics Could We Discuss?

Some of the areas we expect to cover include:

• Workflow design: from raw data to structure
• Cryo-EM compute needs across different institutions
• Storage, transfer, and management of large datasets
• Integration with existing RCD systems (or workarounds when integration isn’t feasible)
• Software commonly used by structural biologists
• Human interactivity and usability in cryo-EM pipelines
• Facility operations and instrumentation support
• Training and onboarding for new facilitators

We’re also open to letting the group shape its own discussion topics based on interest!

Why Join?

Supporting cryo-EM research can be highly rewarding and incredibly challenging. By joining this group, you’ll gain:

• A support network of peers who understand the complexity
• Shared solutions to recurring problems
• Opportunities to collaborate across institutions
• Visibility into how others are approaching cryo-EM facilitation
• A chance to help shape how cryo-EM support evolves in the region

If you’re dealing with any aspect of cryo-EM data, computation, or workflows, we’d love to have you join us.