[3dem] Cryo-EM specimen grid nanofabrication workshop, 28 April 2025

[John Rubinstein]

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you to everyone who expressed interest in this workshop.
We have had far more applications than available spaces and must close the application website. Assuming everything goes smoothly we will likely repeat this workshop.
In the meantime, we are preferentially selecting applicants who work at core facilities and are willing to teach others, and we will try to direct people who we could not accept to nearby facilities where they can learn the process.

Best wishes,
John Rubinstein
—
John Rubinstein
Molecular Medicine Program
The Hospital for Sick Children
686 Bay Street, Rm. 20-9705
Toronto, ON
Canada
M5G 0A4
(+001) 416-813-7255
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.rubinsteinlab.org__;!!Mih3wA!DH_hfWN-vBwjmZJyyA3cjilR_QxckknC8KEtKGFrwdqycyaoJB69K2LFlNh4F9lS-e4-AtU089UVu6R406UPepL_TskQc8BW$ 

On Jan 6, 2025, at 2:23 PM, John Rubinstein <john.rubinstein at utoronto.ca> wrote:

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to announce that we are now accepting applications for a one-day practical workshop on cryo-EM specimen grid nanofabrication. The workshop will be held on April 28, 2025 at the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, as an activity of the Canadian Cryo-EM Nexus (https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ccemn.ca__;!!Mih3wA!DH_hfWN-vBwjmZJyyA3cjilR_QxckknC8KEtKGFrwdqycyaoJB69K2LFlNh4F9lS-e4-AtU089UVu6R406UPepL_TqCuJ-8z$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ccemn.ca/__;!!Mih3wA!DH_hfWN-vBwjmZJyyA3cjilR_QxckknC8KEtKGFrwdqycyaoJB69K2LFlNh4F9lS-e4-AtU089UVu6R406UPepL_TsG8-D_q$ >) - the official network of Canada’s cryo-EM data collection facilities.

At the workshop, participants will learn how to nano-fabricate specimen grids coated with thin foils containing regularly spaced holes, which can be used to freeze samples for cryo-EM (see example image below). The nanofabrication method that will be taught is one that our laboratory has been using exclusively for all cryo-EM projects over the past decade and has also been used by a few other groups worldwide (see https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24269484/__;!!Mih3wA!DH_hfWN-vBwjmZJyyA3cjilR_QxckknC8KEtKGFrwdqycyaoJB69K2LFlNh4F9lS-e4-AtU089UVu6R406UPepL_Tt5dC4UI$  and https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycsdCSmD4rw__;!!Mih3wA!DH_hfWN-vBwjmZJyyA3cjilR_QxckknC8KEtKGFrwdqycyaoJB69K2LFlNh4F9lS-e4-AtU089UVu6R406UPepL_Tq72mS0d$ ). It allows for straightforward production of inexpensive and customizable specimen grids for automated cryo-EM data acquisition.

Space in the workshop is limited. Therefore, preference will be given to applicants who are able to teach the method to others in their geographic area. Participants in the workshop are expected to have all the necessary infrastructure for grid nanofabrication (gold sputter coater or carbon coater, scientific oven capable of reaching a stable 120 °C, pressure test stand) in place at their home institution by the time of the workshop. Participants will leave the workshop with the silicon master patterns and PDMS stamps needed for fabricating specimen grids.

Please go to this website to see details and to apply for a space in the workshop:
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://web.cvent.com/event/ee88ac3f-7b0b-4be0-a6b8-5f0cdd3f9cfa/summary__;!!Mih3wA!DH_hfWN-vBwjmZJyyA3cjilR_QxckknC8KEtKGFrwdqycyaoJB69K2LFlNh4F9lS-e4-AtU089UVu6R406UPepL_ThrZGsZP$ 

Best wishes,
John Rubinstein

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—
John Rubinstein
Molecular Medicine Program
The Hospital for Sick Children
686 Bay Street, Rm. 20-9705
Toronto, ON
Canada
M5G 0A4
(+001) 416-813-7255
https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.rubinsteinlab.org__;!!Mih3wA!DH_hfWN-vBwjmZJyyA3cjilR_QxckknC8KEtKGFrwdqycyaoJB69K2LFlNh4F9lS-e4-AtU089UVu6R406UPepL_TskQc8BW$ 


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