Project Grant DESC0020474

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (CFDA 47.084 - NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships) provides $305,000 to Atomnaut Inc. to investigate the feasibility of a new microscope sample vessel technology to enable routine in situ vitrification and atomic-scale imaging of biomolecule structure and chemistry in 3D. The key objectives are to: (1) achieve a 1-day time-to-data by employing front filling, graphene sealing, and functionalizing a superhydrophilic lumen; and...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant provides $274,771 to H-Bar Instruments, LLC to develop a novel liquid helium transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimen holder. The holder will enable atomic-scale imaging of materials and devices at temperatures as low as 10 Kelvin, overcoming limitations of current low-temperature TEM capabilities. The project aims to create a commercially viable instrument that can turn any TEM...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) provides $306,852 to Mitegen, LLC, a manufacturer of advanced scientific instruments and technologies located in Lansing, New York. The funding will support the development and validation of innovative cryopreservation technology that automates the soaking, cooling, and warming processes for small biological samples such as oocytes and...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences (CFDA 47.074) program provides $743,852 to Saint Louis University (SLU) to acquire an XTALAB SYNERGY-R single crystal diffractometer. This state-of-the-art scientific instrument will enable researchers across 13 different SLU colleges, as well as collaborators from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, to collect high-quality X-ray diffraction data from organic compounds and biological macromolecules. The...

This three-year, $1,368,422 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) supports the development of cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to study phase separation in lipid membranes. Frederick A. Heberle of the University of Tennessee and M. Neal Waxham of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston will optimize cryo-EM imaging techniques to visualize nanoscale lipid raft domains in cell membranes. Goals include...

This $100,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program will support the development of a transmission electron microscope specimen holder for imaging quantum matter and other extreme low-temperature applications at the University of Michigan. The specimen holder aims to enable atomic resolution imaging of materials at or near their operating temperatures, including quantum devices and materials used in quantum...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) provides $276,000.00 to the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA to develop graphene grids to overcome air-water-interface issues in single particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The grant aims to overhaul the cryo-EM grid preparation process to abolish air-water interface interactions, which can damage fragile biological...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Integrative Activities awarded Brandeis University a 3-year, $1,767,282 Project Grant to acquire a Thermo-Fisher Tundra cryo-electron microscope. This advanced microscope will enable visualization and analysis of complex biological structures at the macromolecular level, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across fields from materials science to cell biology. The microscope will be available to researchers at Brandeis and in the local region,...

This three-year National Science Foundation Project Grant of $375,000 supports research into room-temperature superfluorescence in multi-fluorophore protein cages. The grantee, Trustees of Indiana University, will collaborate with researchers to tease out the mechanism by which viral protein scaffolds promote coupling and synchronization of molecular dyes at room temperature. Approaches will couple experimental spectroscopic and molecular biology manipulations with predictive simulations to...

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) awarded a $344,400 Project Grant (CFDA 93.859 - Biomedical Research and Research Training) to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to develop new tools and approaches for improving cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) imaging techniques. Specifically, the grant aims to: 1) Develop a sample preparation strategy to reduce electron-induced radiolysis of frozen-hydrated biological...