$11M UMass microscopes boost biotech resources

UMass Medical School

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By Laura Finaldi

The University of Massachusetts Medical School is now home to two high-resolution microscopes that businesses will be able to use for research.

The cryo-electron microscopes -- a result of an $11 million investment by the medical school, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center -- are the only ones of their kind in New England, according to UMass Medical School. Up until this point, researchers had to travel to New York City to get the same insight into cell structure and functions.

The microscopes can provide a closer look at cell details and structures, opening up the potential for advancements in treatments and cures for diseases. Through transmission of electron energy, the technology is able to generate images of samples at cryogenic temperatures, which allows scientists to observe cellular details and structures at a boosted level of clarity. This is important to drug developers because a lot of drug targets are embedded in hard-to-see cell membranes, according to UMass.

Through cryo-EM, as the technology is called, specimens can be observed in their native environment in real time, whereas the old standard -- x-ray crystallography -- required the specimen to be crystallized, a process that could take years, according to Dr. Jean King, associate provost for biomedical research at UMass Medical School.

Academic institutions and businesses, including Harvard University and Pfizer, Inc., are expected to purchase time to use the microscopes, King said. Businesses can purchase time on the machine by contacting the medical school directly. Costs depend on whether you’re an academic institution or an industry partner.