On December 5, 2020, Dr. Kanika Khanna (a former Khorana scholar) along with Sci-ROI organized a focused webinar titled “Cryo-electron microscopy in India”. In the recent decade, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) techniques have revolutionized the field of structural biology by elucidating the structures of biological macromolecules at near-atomic resolution.
The aim of the webinar was to discuss challenges and opportunities in the Indian cryo-EM biosphere and infrastructure by engaging students and post-docs carrying out cryo-EM research abroad in a dialogue with the cryo-EM community in India. We had 5 faculty from eminent Indian institutes as panelists – Prof. Manidipa Banerjee (IIT Delhi), Prof. Somnath Dutta (IISc Bengaluru), Prof. Jayati Sengupta (CSIR-IICB Kolkata), Prof. Arun Shukla (IIT Kanpur) and Prof. Vinothkumar Kutti Ragunath (NCBS Bengaluru). 100+ participants from all across the world attended the seminar.
During the pre-recorded talks and the webinar, we discussed the status of different cryo-EM modalities in India and how to navigate grant applications if you are selected as a faculty at one of the institutes, issues related to the management of facilities and infrastructure, collaborations in cryo-EM and training opportunities for scientists, and future plans and vision of cryo-EM in India. Pre-recorded talks, live webinar recording and Q&A by the faculty panel are available below.
Here are two links related to Cryo-EM course (for advanced undergrads and graduate students):
A. Getting Started in cryo-EM : Lectures by Grant Jensen, Professor of Biology, Caltech; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Recorded at Caltech in 2013 -14.
B. Cryo-EM Course: Sample Preparation: Lectures by Grant Jensen, Professor of Biology, Caltech; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Matthijn Vos. Recorded at Caltech in 2017.