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Wash U collaborates with SLU to purchase $5 million microscope

"I’m delighted that this new collaboration will allow SLU and Washington University scientists to access the most advanced imaging technology in the field"
Credit: Wash U
Cryo-electron microscopy specialist Michael Rau works on the Krios microscope at the Washington University Center for Cellular Imaging. Washington University and SLU have signed a collaboration agreement that will bring a second cryo-electron microscope to the center and extend access to SLU researchers.

ST. LOUIS — Washington University has plans to purchase a new $5 million cryo-electron microscope that will be available for all users of Wash U’s Center for Cellular Imaging.

The purchase was made as part of an agreement between Wash U and Saint Louis University. SLU is contributing $2.5 million to the center.

"I am excited to begin this collaboration with SLU," said Jennifer K. Lodge, PhD, Washington University’s vice chancellor for research.

The new microscope will be housed on the Washington University Medical Campus and maintained and supported by staff from the Center for Cellular Imaging, according to a press release.

The microscope was ordered in December 2019 and is expected to be delivered in the fall. Installation and calibration will take a couple of months, so the microscope should be ready for use by the end of the year.

"We deeply value our research partnership with Washington University as a key element of Saint Louis University’s ongoing growth as a preeminent research university to serve the St. Louis region," said Ken Olliff, vice president for research at SLU. “I’m delighted that this new collaboration will allow SLU and Washington University scientists to access the most advanced imaging technology in the field."

The center already has one of the most advanced cryo-electron microscopes available, a Titan Krios that was installed in 2017. Wash U said images created using the Titan Krios have led to groundbreaking scientific discoveries.

The new microscope coming to the center will be a Glacios type. Between the Titan Krios and Glacios microscopes, researchers will be able to make detailed images of everything from single small molecules to viruses that are thousands of times bigger, according to the press release.

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