U of A unveils high-tech microscope to speed up medical research

When it comes to taking a closer look, a camera can only zoom so far. But an $8 million microscope can zoom really, really close, to a molecular level, helping scientists understand viruses and diseases.

The microscope is part new Cryo-EM Facility at the University of Alberta.

This new tool can provide 3D images from a frozen protein or purified DNA taken from a human sample, like blood or saliva. It’s data that once took months or years to process can now be analyzed in just 24 hours.

“With COVID-19, that time was reduced to a couple of months to two to three months within a Cryo-EM Facility … and once you obtain the structure, then the drug development process can start on a rational basis, and then of course you have to do the chemistry and all that,” explained Matthias Götte, the director of SPP-ARC.

This is the only microscope of its kind in Alberta and one of five across the country. It’s a huge leap in medical research for biochemist Joanne Lemieux.

“Particularly at the University of Alberta, proximal to the medical hospital. This is really a game-changer for us. The fundamental researchers can interface and interact, collaborate with clinicians and learn more about how we can help each other gain insight into disease,” said Lemieux.

The Cryo-EM Facility is funded by the Alberta government through “Striving for Pandemic Preparedness,” a research consortium created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Götte says the new microscope means scientists will be one step ahead when responding to other emerging diseases.