Prof. Oliver Blacque to lead national cryo-electron microscopy platform

A national cryo-electron microscopy facility based in UCD Conway Institute and led by Conway Fellow, Professor Oliver Blacque has received €3.7 million in funding from Research Ireland.

The funding award forms part of a €17.7 million investment in nine projects through Research Ireland’s Research Infrastructure Programme announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD. The awards will contribute to the advancement of high-quality and high-impact research activities across Ireland.

Prof. Blacque's leadership in establishing a cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) unit as part of the Institute core technology programme will revolutionise biomedical research by enabling high-resolution 3D visualisation of biological structures.

This leading-edge technology will significantly advance the understanding of complex biological processes and contribute to a range of important applications in medicine. His project is a key highlight among the nine research initiatives receiving funding from the €17.7 million investment in Ireland's research infrastructure.

Announcing the funding, Minister Lawless commented: “This targeted investment in research infrastructure will help to future-proof the conducting of high-quality research endeavours across our higher education institutions and in a wide range of disciplines. It is important for researchers to be equipped with the innovative tools and the conducive environments that can help deliver research excellence and impact.”

In welcoming the announcement, Celine Fitzgerald, Interim Chief Executive of Research Ireland, said: “The Research Infrastructure Programme supports the research community in building and sustaining cutting-edge infrastructure to accomplish high-quality, impactful, and innovative research. The programme encourages partnerships and collaboration between different cohorts of researchers in Ireland, across academia and enterprise.”

Other awardees are located in University of Limerick, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Teagasc, and Dublin City University.