CryoEM and CryoET Curriculum Development

The Research Education Program Grants for Curriculum Development for CryoEM and CryoET (Curriculum Development) as part of the Transformative High-Resolution Cryoelectron Microscopy program (CryoEM) has transitioned from Common Fund support. Common Fund programs are strategic investments that achieve a set of high-impact goals within a 5-10 year timeframe. At the conclusion of each program, deliverables will transition to other sources of support or use within the scientific community.

The Curriculum Development program was supported by the Common Fund from 2018 to 2024. Currently, curriculum materials developed by projects are included on the shared website developed by the National Center for CryoEM Access and Training (NCCAT).

Please note that since the Curriculum Development program is no longer supported by the Common Fund, the program website is being maintained as an archive and will not be updated on a regular basis.  

The Research Education Program Grants for CryoEM and CryoET Curriculum Development have successfully developed open access instructional material on cryoEM for those with or without a structural biology background. When the Curriculum Development program launched, there was no repository of resources or standardized training program to develop a workforce in CryoEM and CryoET. With the resources developed by this program, scientists can now access a plethora of training resources and a standardized procedure for implementation of training documentation with the Merit Badge program. 

Highlights of the Curriculum Development program include:  

• The development of CryoEM101 and CryoET101. These companion resources provide users with instructions on how to use cryoEM/ET equipment and have received over 43,000 unique users.  
• The development of Virtual Reality Augmented CryoEM Hands-on Training (CryoVR). This resource provides users with a virtual training program to gain hands-on experience of cryoEM/ET equipment with commonly commercially available VR equipment. This resource has garnered over 10,000 views over multiple platforms.  
• The development of “Getting Started in Cryo-EM“ course, with additional access through multiple platforms including Coursera, iTunes U, and YouTube. This resource has received over 1 million views across all platforms.