[3dem] Map of Cryo-EM Worldwide

Wed Sep 11 09:58:43 PDT 2024

Dear cool people,

Follow-up from last week: people have asked what labs are good and bad on the cryoEM map. I’ve only experienced working with a handful, of course. But the community as a whole has a massive amount of constructive knowledge. So let’s help each other with this question.

Hundreds of researchers use our facility yearly, exposing me to a wide range of PIs who manage in good ways and bad ways. Some are inspirational, some are toxic. I want our cryoEM field to maximize inspirational PIs and minimize toxic PIs. Same goes for institutes. Let’s use the cryoEM map to help match researchers with PIs and institutes; find a place where you're treated well. My lists of inspirational and toxic PI qualities:

Inspirational:

  *
Is internally motivated with purpose
  *
Trusts their researchers and delegates
  *
Encourages people to pursue their own path & passions
  *
Makes and presents clear plans and visions
  *
Advises based on their knowledge and admits gaps in knowledge
  *
Speaks positively about their lab
  *
Allows others to show their work (proper credit)
  *
Addresses feedback in an open, non-hostile manner
  *
Encourages career growth
  *
Keeps promises

Toxic:

  *
Yells and is hostile
  *
Micromanages (unless requested)
  *
Forces research (particularly not scientifically thought-through ideas)
  *
Forces work after hours
  *
Consistent poor planning
  *
Not putting anything in clear writing
  *
Lacks trust in staffs’ knowledge and experience
  *
Shifts blame; doesn't take responsibility
  *
Unpredictable / chaotic
  *
Lacks empathy
  *
Unrealistic expectations / workloads
  *
Blocks career growth
  *
Scientific & ethical concerns (e.g. authorship without contribution)
  *
Doesn’t keep promises
  *
Resists feedback regarding their toxic behaviors

To better serve the community, I propose that we list and date inspirational and toxic behaviors of PIs & institutes on the cryoEM map to guide researchers in their future positions, improve treatment of staff, and celebrate exemplary PIs & institutes. Please email me (alexjnoble at gmail.com<mailto:alexjnoble at gmail.com> or anoble at nysbc.org<mailto:anoble at nysbc.org>) with your factual, succinct experiences with PIs & institutes and dates/ranges, like this:

  *
2020-22: Prof. X supported my grant writing, didn't micromanage, and trusted my skills.
  *
2023: Dr. Y yelled at HR due to a minor budget disagreement.
  *
2019-24: University of Z had clear PhD guidelines and good funding support, but didn't address my concerns about Dr. Y.

I will add them anonymously to the map. Use a throw-away email if you wish for extra anonymity.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tiny.cc/cryoem_map__;!!Mih3wA!AnZS1NEtv38CnG3PJhF8dl-MEZPhp--nCTV1roT_Q04Ff0thKvb_NDVdbDaYr5aYYohdLV8uRDsqx6H72g$ 

Best wishes,
Alex Noble

BTW, I’m behind on getting back to emails - thanks for your patience!

________________________________
From: Alex Noble <anoble at nysbc.org<mailto:anoble at nysbc.org>>
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2024 12:51 PM
To: 3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu<mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu> <3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu<mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu>>
Subject: Re: Map of Cryo-EM Worldwide

Dear cool people,

The cryoEM map has been continually updated and many images have been added of PIs and instruments. Please email me with anything that's missing!

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1eQ1r8BiDYfaK7D1S9EeFJEgkLggMyoaT&usp=sharing__;!!Mih3wA!AnZS1NEtv38CnG3PJhF8dl-MEZPhp--nCTV1roT_Q04Ff0thKvb_NDVdbDaYr5aYYohdLV8uRDvIixH8ig$ 
(short URL: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tiny.cc/cryoem_map__;!!Mih3wA!AnZS1NEtv38CnG3PJhF8dl-MEZPhp--nCTV1roT_Q04Ff0thKvb_NDVdbDaYr5aYYohdLV8uRDsqx6H72g$ )

On a related topic, I think the academic model of research is significantly inefficient: Excessive time is spent on grants/funding and bureaucracy instead of using our creativity and skills to pursue research and passions. While rare, private funding sometimes creates positions that allow researchers to focus primarily on their research and passions. What positions in the cryoEM world provide such research freedom? Are there institutes interested in funding research positions? And how we increase the number of these positions? (perhaps some readers might be interested in funding/contributing to them.) I'm interested in everyone's thoughts.

Best wishes,
Alex Noble
SEMC

________________________________
From: Alex Noble <anoble at nysbc.org<mailto:anoble at nysbc.org>>
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2022 3:45 PM
To: 3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu<mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu> <3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu<mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu>>
Subject: Map of Cryo-EM Worldwide

Dear cool people,

The worldwide cryo-EM map has been significantly updated:

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1eQ1r8BiDYfaK7D1S9EeFJEgkLggMyoaT&usp=sharing__;!!Mih3wA!AnZS1NEtv38CnG3PJhF8dl-MEZPhp--nCTV1roT_Q04Ff0thKvb_NDVdbDaYr5aYYohdLV8uRDvIixH8ig$ 

(short URL: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tiny.cc/cryoem_map__;!!Mih3wA!AnZS1NEtv38CnG3PJhF8dl-MEZPhp--nCTV1roT_Q04Ff0thKvb_NDVdbDaYr5aYYohdLV8uRDsqx6H72g$ )

Updates include:

  *   All Krioses, Glacioses, and Arcticas have been identified to within ~5% error,
  *   A section called 'Cryo-EM tools & other scopes' has been added to catalogue other EMs like screening scopes and general equipment like plunge freezers and sputter coaters,
  *   Tundras have been added,
  *   200 more cryo-EM labs have been added.

I can use your help! I have the following requests:

  *   For some Krioses, Glacioses, and Arcticas, I only know the city they are in instead of their exact locations. If you know the exact locations for any of these, please email me.
  *   If you work at JEOL and have a list of sub-4 angstrom instruments (CryoARMs, 3200s, etc) to anonymously share with me, please email me.
  *   If you have a microscope on order that is not listed, especially Tundras, please email me.
  *   Feel free to email me a list of general cryo-EM equipment at your institute if it's not on the map already.
  *   Any missing instruments or labs, and general feedback of course!

With over 100,000 views, I think this map has been quite a successful project and will hopefully continue to be useful. Let's keep doing fun science in this awesome field! And let's not forget to always support each other - there are many more cryo-EM projects than there are people to do them.

Best wishes,
Alex Noble, SEMC

________________________________
From: Alex Noble
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2021 9:02 AM
To: 3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu<mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu> <3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu<mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu>>
Subject: Map of Cryo-EM Worldwide

Dear cool people,

I would like to share with you an open-source map of cryo-EM instruments and labs worldwide:

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1eQ1r8BiDYfaK7D1S9EeFJEgkLggMyoaT&usp=sharing__;!!Mih3wA!AnZS1NEtv38CnG3PJhF8dl-MEZPhp--nCTV1roT_Q04Ff0thKvb_NDVdbDaYr5aYYohdLV8uRDvIixH8ig$ 

short URL: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tiny.cc/cryoem_map__;!!Mih3wA!AnZS1NEtv38CnG3PJhF8dl-MEZPhp--nCTV1roT_Q04Ff0thKvb_NDVdbDaYr5aYYohdLV8uRDsqx6H72g$ 

A few years ago, Wen Jiang (Purdue) started a cryo-EM google map of Krioses in the USA. With the help of the cryo-EM community on Twitter, Lucas Farnung (Harvard) expanded it to Krioses worldwide, then I expanded it to CryoARMs, Arcticas, Glacioses, Polaras/TF30s, cryo-FIB/SEMs, and 650 cryo-EM labs.

The idea is to geographically catalogue all cryo-EM instruments that are capable of routinely producing near-atomic resolution specimens or data, and to geographically catalogue all labs that perform research in the field of biological cryo-EM. Hopefully this resource allows all cryo-EM scientists to know what instruments and labs exist in their geographical locations of interest so that they can plan their experiments more efficiently and go where they are treated best.

I am sure that there are missing instruments, missing labs, and errors in the map. Please contact me by email or Twitter to add/fix anything. My apologies if I have missed your lab! Note: There is a search function in the map so you can quickly locate labs and equipment.

Best wishes,

Alex Noble (tw: @alexjamesnoble<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://twitter.com/alexjamesnoble__;!!Mih3wA!AnZS1NEtv38CnG3PJhF8dl-MEZPhp--nCTV1roT_Q04Ff0thKvb_NDVdbDaYr5aYYohdLV8uRDtAOLLRgg$ >), SEMC
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.ncmir.ucsd.edu/pipermail/3dem/attachments/20240911/5349fdab/attachment-0001.html>