Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Cryo-electron microscopy: mathematical foundations and algorithms

Objective

The importance of understanding the functions of the basic building blocks of life, such as proteins, cannot be overstated (as asserted by two recent Nobel prizes in Chemistry), as this understanding unravels the mechanisms that control all organisms. The critical step towards such an understanding is to reveal the structures of these building blocks. A leading method for resolving such structures is cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), in which the structure of a molecule is recovered from its images taken by an electron microscope, by using sophisticated mathematical algorithms (to which my group has made several key mathematical and algorithmic contributions). Due to hardware breakthroughs in the past three years, cryo-EM has made a giant leap forward, introducing capabilities that until recently were unimaginable, opening an opportunity to revolutionize our biological understanding. As extracting information from cryo-EM experiments completely relies on mathematical algorithms, the method’s deep mathematical challenges that have emerged must be solved as soon as possible. Only then cryo-EM could realize its nearly inconceivable potential. These challenges, for which no adequate solutions exist (or none at all), focus on integrating information from huge sets of extremely noisy images reliability and efficiently. Based on the experience of my research group in developing algorithms for cryo-EM data processing, gained during the past eight years, we will address the three key open challenges of the field – a) deriving reliable and robust reconstruction algorithms from cryo-EM data, b) developing tools to process heterogeneous cryo-EM data sets, and c) devising validation and quality measures for structures determined from cryo-EM data. The fourth goal of the project, which ties all goals together and promotes the broad interdisciplinary impact of the project, is to merge all our algorithms into a software platform for state-of-the-art processing of cryo-EM data.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2016-COG

See all projects funded under this call

Host institution

TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 751 250,00
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 751 250,00

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0