Access to the National Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility

The initial aim of the National Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility (NCEF) is to provide cryo-EM images collected on state-of-the-art instruments to extramural academic users who can show that they have specimens of the required quality ready for imaging at high resolution.

NCEF is intended to advance the mission of the NCI. To be considered, applicants must submit a completed NCEF Sample Information Form (SIF) and pre-screening images to include project relevance in cancer research to: nci-ncef@nih.gov.

Applicants need not be NIH grant holders, and a SIF submission is required for each 48-hour imaging session project.

Please see the NCEF Process Workflow.

To be considered, projects should fulfill the following requirements:

• The project must be related to cancer research
• Only biosafety level 1 (BSL 1) samples can be accepted. No potentially infectious or toxic material can be accepted
• Cryo-EM pre-screening images from the same grids made from the same plunge freezing session to be sent to the NCEF will need to be collected on a screening electron microscope, and must be provided with its corresponding Sample Information Form. Pre-screening image requirements:
  1. Low Magnification Images- At least 1 full grid square
  2. Medium Magnification Images- 1 or 5 holes in a quantifoil
  3. High Magnification Images- Particles should be clearly visible

After projects are accepted:

1. A confirmation of acceptance will then be sent to the applicant with detailed instructions and an imaging checklist.
2. Frozen cryo-EM grids can then be shipped to the NCEF for imaging. Users must include a return shipping label for return of their dry shipper and include pick-up from the NCEF. A grid box inventory sheet should also be provided or can be emailed to nci-ncef@nih.gov.
3. The accepted 48-hour imaging session will be queued once the grids arrive at the NCEF.
4. Data will be transferred via Globus endpoint after imaging session. Grids will then be disposed after imaging session. Collected data will be kept for up to 1 month after transfer to the user, then deleted.

We do not require you to identify your samples. However, please provide some background information as requested in the SIF. Your data will not be shared with anyone, and will not be analyzed (other than for required image quality control during data acquisition).

In any publications and posters that use data provided by NCEF, we require that you include acknowledgment, such as:
"This research was, in part, supported by the National Cancer Institute’s National Cryo-EM Facility at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research."