Harvard Cryo-EM Center for Structural Biology
The Harvard Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center for Structural Biology
The Harvard Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center for Structural Biology is a joint effort by Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard University to provide state-of-the-art cryo-EM instrumentation and expertise for the structural biology community. This user facility offers consultation and training by staff in specimen preparation, microscope operation, image acquisition, and data analysis.
Additionally, the Molecular Electron Microscopy Suite (MEMS) at Harvard Medical School is a separate user resource currently available to qualified researchers. This user facility offers training and supervision in negative-stain and cryo-transmission electron microscopy. Equipment includes three transmission electron microscopes, two cryo plungers, and sample preparation areas.
These Resources are also available to External Academic and Industrial Users!
Academic and Industry Users Welcome!
HMS Cryo-EM Facility
We welcome new academic and industry users for microscope use and training at the Cryo-EM center. See Access and Training to get started: cryoem.hms.harvard.edu/access
Start a new project at the MEMS
MEMS Facility
Many Cryo-EM projects start out with negative stain EM. Learn how to get started here: cryoem.hms.harvard.edu/mems-training
Who We Are at the HC2EM!
Recent Publications
2026
Della Syau, Felix Steinruecke, Sophie Roth, Ernst Schmid, Karen Adelman, Johannes C Walter, and Lucas Farnung. 2026. “Structure and Function of IWS1 in Transcription Elongation”. Nucleic Acids Research, 54, Pp. gkag357. doi:10.1093/nar/gkag357
Della Syau, Felix Steinruecke, Sophie Roth, Ernst Schmid, Karen Adelman, Johannes C Walter, and Lucas Farnung. 2026. “Structure and Function of IWS1 in Transcription Elongation”. Nucleic Acids Research, 54, Pp. gkag357. doi:10.1093/nar/gkag357
Zishuo Yu, Pradeep Sathyanarayana, Joel M. J. Tan, Side Hu, Xiaoyi Fan, Angela Gao, Philip J. Kranzusch, Joseph J. Loparo, and Jonathan Abraham. 2026. “Structure and Operating Principles of a Monkeypox Virus Replisome”. doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10937-2
Zishuo Yu, Pradeep Sathyanarayana, Joel M. J. Tan, Side Hu, Xiaoyi Fan, Angela Gao, Philip J. Kranzusch, Joseph J. Loparo, and Jonathan Abraham. 2026. “Structure and Operating Principles of a Monkeypox Virus Replisome”. doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10937-2
Marilina de Sautu, Conny Leistner, Tomas Kirchhausen, Simon Jenni, and Stephen C. Harrison. 2026. “Mechanism of Membrane Perforation in Rotavirus Cell Entry”. Science, 393, Pp. 1128-33. doi:10.1126/science.aeg4851
Marilina de Sautu, Conny Leistner, Tomas Kirchhausen, Simon Jenni, and Stephen C. Harrison. 2026. “Mechanism of Membrane Perforation in Rotavirus Cell Entry”. Science, 393, Pp. 1128-33. doi:10.1126/science.aeg4851
Haixia Zhou, Lea Terbeck, Andrew Berical, Marine Brunet, Sven M. Lange, Jacob R. Anderson, Heike Olbrich, Diana Carolin Bracht, Kai Wohlgemuth, Cynthia Rieck, Johanna Raidt, Jürgen Klingauf, Sivagurunathan Sutharsan, Huda Mussaffi, Dario Prais, Victoria Dunphy, Sachiko T. Homma, Paul Guichard, Virginie Hamel, Finn J. Hawkins, Heymut Omran, and Alan Brown. 2026. “In Situ Structure of the Human Ciliary Transition Zone Links Linker Defects to Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia”. Science, Pp. eaei5957. doi:10.1126/science.aei5957
Haixia Zhou, Lea Terbeck, Andrew Berical, Marine Brunet, Sven M. Lange, Jacob R. Anderson, Heike Olbrich, Diana Carolin Bracht, Kai Wohlgemuth, Cynthia Rieck, Johanna Raidt, Jürgen Klingauf, Sivagurunathan Sutharsan, Huda Mussaffi, Dario Prais, Victoria Dunphy, Sachiko T. Homma, Paul Guichard, Virginie Hamel, Finn J. Hawkins, Heymut Omran, and Alan Brown. 2026. “In Situ Structure of the Human Ciliary Transition Zone Links Linker Defects to Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia”. Science, Pp. eaei5957. doi:10.1126/science.aei5957
Paula P. Navarro, Andrea Vettiger, Roman Hajdu, Virly Y. Ananda, Alejandro López-Tavares, Ernst W. Schmid, Johannes C. Walter, Martin Loose, Luke H. Chao, and Thomas G. Bernhardt. 2026. “The Penicillin-Binding Protein PBP1b Fortifies the Escherichia Coli Division Site Against Osmotic Rupture”, 11, 8, Pp. 2142-2156,. doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02403-6
Paula P. Navarro, Andrea Vettiger, Roman Hajdu, Virly Y. Ananda, Alejandro López-Tavares, Ernst W. Schmid, Johannes C. Walter, Martin Loose, Luke H. Chao, and Thomas G. Bernhardt. 2026. “The Penicillin-Binding Protein PBP1b Fortifies the Escherichia Coli Division Site Against Osmotic Rupture”, 11, 8, Pp. 2142-2156,. doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02403-6
Hojong Yoon, Franziska Wachter, Katharine A. Barrett, Cyrus Jin, Anna Rodríguez-Pöhnlein, Justine C. Rutter, Ryan J. Lumpkin, Rebecca J. Metivier, Katherine A. Donovan, Kheewoong Baek, Yongying Jiang, Minwoo Lee, Robert W. Kalis, Jianwei Che, Yuan Xiong, Eric S. Fischer, and Benjamin L. Ebert. 2026. “DCAF11-Dependent Molecular Glue Degrader Activated by Glutathionylation”. doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10873-1
Hojong Yoon, Franziska Wachter, Katharine A. Barrett, Cyrus Jin, Anna Rodríguez-Pöhnlein, Justine C. Rutter, Ryan J. Lumpkin, Rebecca J. Metivier, Katherine A. Donovan, Kheewoong Baek, Yongying Jiang, Minwoo Lee, Robert W. Kalis, Jianwei Che, Yuan Xiong, Eric S. Fischer, and Benjamin L. Ebert. 2026. “DCAF11-Dependent Molecular Glue Degrader Activated by Glutathionylation”. doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10873-1
Cristina Gutierrez-Vargas, Lee S. Izhaki-Tavor, Diana G. Calvopina-Chavez, Caroline D. Keroack, Pablo Copello, Manoj T. Duraisingh, and Mélissa Léger-Abraham. 2026. “Ribosomal Architecture and RRNA Modification Landscape in the Tick-Borne Parasite Babesia Divergens”, 17, 1, Pp. 9475+. doi:10.1038/s41467-026-75282-4
Cristina Gutierrez-Vargas, Lee S. Izhaki-Tavor, Diana G. Calvopina-Chavez, Caroline D. Keroack, Pablo Copello, Manoj T. Duraisingh, and Mélissa Léger-Abraham. 2026. “Ribosomal Architecture and RRNA Modification Landscape in the Tick-Borne Parasite Babesia Divergens”, 17, 1, Pp. 9475+. doi:10.1038/s41467-026-75282-4
Samuel Ojeda, Meng Wang, Kheewoong Baek, Wallace Bourgeois, Alba Sommerschield, Hong Yue, Rebecca J. Metivier, Panos Karagiannis, Talya S. Levitz, Yuan Xiong, Katherine A. Donovan, Scott A. Armstrong, and Eric S. Fischer. 2026. “Degron-Independent Recruitment of KAT2A Expands the Target Space of CRBN Molecular Glues”. Science, 393, Pp. 188-94. doi:10.1126/science.aef5391
Samuel Ojeda, Meng Wang, Kheewoong Baek, Wallace Bourgeois, Alba Sommerschield, Hong Yue, Rebecca J. Metivier, Panos Karagiannis, Talya S. Levitz, Yuan Xiong, Katherine A. Donovan, Scott A. Armstrong, and Eric S. Fischer. 2026. “Degron-Independent Recruitment of KAT2A Expands the Target Space of CRBN Molecular Glues”. Science, 393, Pp. 188-94. doi:10.1126/science.aef5391