WP1: Advancing Instruct through Instruct-ULTRA
Instruct’s profile has been raised through dissemination and outreach activities in WP1, and the development of a Communication Strategy, Policy and Plan has helped to create a professional and recognisable brand. ULTRA represented Instruct-ERIC at numerous national and international conferences, and hosted key events, including a Women in Science workshop and facility launches. ULTRA also delivered a varied training programme for staff, including an annual Best Practices in CryoEM workshop.
WP2: Roadmap to the future for Instruct
Under WP2, three major documents were prepared: an Instruct-ERIC Business Plan, a report on EU Structural Funds, and a Sustainability Plan. ULTRA partners continued to develop relationships with stakeholders, undertaking an ambitious calendar of events. A particular highlight was a virtual event celebrating Instruct’s accomplishments since achieving ERIC status.
WP3: Expanding Instruct Membership and international outreach
By Dec 2020, the growth of Instruct-ERIC membership surpassed ULTRA objectives, with Spain, Latvia, Finland, EMBL and Lithuania taking membership to 15 countries and organisations. ULTRA initiatives fostered connections with many other prospective member countries, including Slovenia, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Austria and Greece, and developed international links with Latin America, India and South Africa.
WP4: Advancing Instruct through Instruct-ULTRA
WP4 facilitated eleven pilot-scale R&D projects, selected from proposals by ULTRA partners across two open calls. Achievements included the development of: software to predict NMR experiments, software to exchange metadata from crystallisation experiments, protocols to integrate ESR and NMR measurements to study protein dynamics, a protocol to increase throughput of cryo-FIB micromachining, super-resolution microscopy techniques, and a remote access pathway for complex glycan analyses.
WP5: Reaching new user communities and industry
ULTRA led on various initiatives in industry outreach, designing online and print resources, and representing Instruct at industry events. An SME campaign was created and implemented by ULTRA partners, leading to new industry users. With input from industry representatives, ULTRA formulated Standard Operating Procedures and an Innovation Management Plan, identifying ways for Instruct to deliver appealing, high-quality services to industry.
WP6: Expanding access provision and user services
WP6 focussed on improving collaboration between Instruct facilities. New communication channels were established for staff and users, and a virtual lab environment was developed, with proof-of-concept testing for integration with ARIA. Within the theme of widening collaborations, a model for partnerships with other RIs was developed. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ULTRA partners optimised remote services for NMR and cryoEM.
WP7: Streamlining access procedures for pioneering structural biology methods
Experimental activities in WP7 focused on in-cell NMR methods, the production of membrane proteins and macromolecular complexes, and nanobody technologies. Novel results were obtained in all these areas by application of innovative approaches, and the technologies have been made available to users via the Instruct catalogue.
WP8: Increasing the quality and integrity of structural data and metadata and increasing open data sharing
WP8 focussed on ways to organise and share structural data and metadata according to FAIR principles. Efforts in this work package established requirements for data transfer between Instruct facilities, described a process to archive raw and meta-data generated at Instruct Centres, developed a plugin to enhance the deposition of cryoEM data into public databases, and integrated software for connectivity between on-the-fly processing and protein structure data collection and analysis in cryoEM.
