The Rosalind Franklin Institute

📢We're hiring a Research Software Engineer!
Join the Franklin to support our research in native mass spectrometry and to help build 3D protein atlases of the mouse brain.
Bring your skills, grow your scientific independence, and contribute to ground-breaking biomedical research. zurl.co/EBTOP

Diagram showing interleaved scanning in electron microscopy. A 16 × 16 grid of black squares represents pixel positions. A green cone indicates the electron beam. Curved arrows show the beam skipping between pixels, with white arrows marking scanned pixels and yellow arrows for those yet to be scanned. Red circles around each scanned pixel illustrate charge dissipating outward, helping reduce image distortion. Alongside a quote from Dr Maud Dumoux "We went from images that were unusable due to distortion, to images where we could clearly see previously hidden structures. It has been a game-changer. People in the field have been really interested in this development."

Researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute have developed a novel “leapfrog” scanning technique that dramatically improves image clarity in cryo-SEM. This is already enabling researchers to visualise structures once thought impossible to image with cryo-SEM.
Read the full article: zurl.co/cyvxf

How to spy on condensates Nature Methods - Scientists track how these membraneless biomolecular foci self-organize for their cellular tasks.

We are excited to share a recent article in Nature Methods on condensates featuring the work of Karina Pombo García and her team. Her research focuses on the role of condensates in cell adhesion and tight junctions.

Read the full Technology Feature here: zurl.co/fLf4C

It was inspiring to see so much curiosity, creativity, and excitement from the next generation of scientists and engineers. A huge thank you to the Big Bang team and @engineeringuk.com for having us - and to everyone who took part in the activity.

We can’t believe it has been a week since we were at the Big Bang Fair!

Our team had a brilliant time running a stand with @sciencemadesimple.bsky.social - talking about neurons and showing students how we image them using electron microscopes and interpret those images using AI.

📢We're Hiring!
Are you a passionate and experienced molecular virologist/biologist ready to make an impact in infectious disease research? Join us as a Research Associate, where you'll contribute to exploring how pathogens interact with human cells. For further details, and to apply: zurl.co/SThC9

Work experience - Rosalind Franklin Institute We offer opportunities for young people to experience a scientific working environment firsthand through our work experience weeks.

The Franklin hosts two work experience weeks each year welcoming small groups of students from year 10 and 12 to experience working in our labs. Find out more about our programmes and keep an eye out for next year's dates here: zurl.co/So5Vi

She joined the Franklin this week, rotating with a variety of research groups to find out more about some of our ongoing projects. Alongside learning some basic techniques needed for working in a laboratory she explored imaging methods, such as biological mass spectrometry and electron microscopy.

Two people working in a lab with their backs to the camera. One, a researcher at the Rosalind Franklin in a white lab coat pointing at a 96 well plate, the other a work experience student in a blue lab coat on holding a pipette.

In a first for the Franklin's work experience programme we have been joined by a student that was inspired to complete their work experience with us following a careers workshop delivered by the Franklin team at her school.

We are at @bigbangukstem.bsky.social today and tomorrow with @sciencemadesimple.bsky.social. Come and say hello to the team and find out more about how researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute are imaging neurons to understand neurodegenerative diseases.
#BigBangFair

Read me about this here - www.rfi.ac.uk/latest/movin...

An segmented image of a synaptic junction. The image features synaptic vesicles which are small spheres and larger cylinders with are the synapses. The image is surrounded by electron microscopy images of a synaptic cleft, a synaptic vesicle, a microtubule, and a tethered vesicle.

A new method from @michaelgrange.bsky.social's group, lets scientists zoom into brain tissue —right down to the molecular level.

🔍 It works on bigger, more complex samples
🤖 Uses AI to handle massive data
🧪 Adaptable to human tissue
🧬 Could give us a detailed understanding of disease

Proud to share our latest paper. doi.org/10.1016/j.cr...

Through the dedication of @glynnca.bsky.social and @cryingem.bsky.social we report a thorough method to image molecular organisation within hippocampus tissue.

Structural biology in tissue is well and truly here!

@rosfrankinst.bsky.social

📢 We're Hiring: Laboratory Technician
We're looking for a detail-oriented Laboratory Technician to join our team! If you have a background in science, enjoy hands-on work, and are passionate about precision, we'd love to hear from you. For further details, and to apply: zurl.co/gwyEE

The Don Claugher Award is a wonderful endorsement from the SEMT, supporting our efforts to explore the applications of liquid phase electron microscopy for mitochondrial research

Congratulations to Katie Beirns, PhD Student at the Franklin and @ox.ac.uk, who has received the Don Claugher Award from the Society of Electron Microscope Technology (SEMT).

Read more about the award and Katie's work here: zurl.co/6ixFB

EMBO attendees outside of the Rosalind Franklin Institute

It was a pleasure to host the @embo.org practical course: Transposable Elements in the Era of Data Science last week. We welcomed participants from around the world for a week of hands-on experience in the computational analysis of transposable elements. Thank you to all of those who joined us.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 30/4/25 Welsh community food strategy, British-grown pulses, biostimulant for wheat New community food strategy for Wales.

📻Catch Cara Griffiths talking to about new results boosting wheat yield using the T6P biostimulant developed by Rothamsted, @ox.ac.uk & @rosfrankinst.bsky.social on
BBCR4 Farming Today this morning. First item in the programme...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

A circular image of scientists operating a piece of equipment set against grey and purple background. With a note: "We are hiring"

Applications are still open for our Post Doctoral Researcher in Quantitative Imaging Biology! If you are interested in exploring how epithelial cells self-organise using cutting edge tools like super-resolution STED, FLIM, FRET and FCS, please apply here: zurl.co/iIctt

“This work provides an excellent example of a case where direct selective manipulation of key molecular structures, rather than genetics or gene editing, inside a living system is a game changer. It has been really very inspiring to design and discover this new class of ‘drug for plants’ together” - Professor Ben Davis, Science Director and Challenge Lead at the Rosalind Franklin Institute

Published today in @natbiotech.nature.com, researchers from @rothamsted.bsky.social, @ox.ac.uk and the Franklin describe their work towards enhancing wheat plants' sugar signalling ability, which could increase yields of the crop by up to 12%.

Read the full article here: zurl.co/UNGm8

We're Hiring - Post Doctoral Researcher in Quantitative Imaging Biology

📣 We're hiring a Post Doctoral Researcher in Quantitative Imaging Biology!
Are you a creative scientist excited by imaging, biophysics, and cell biology? Join us to explore how epithelial cells self-organise using cutting edge tools such as super-resolution STED.
Find out more: zurl.co/4JHfR

"We're Hiring Post Doctoral Researcher in X-Ray Microscopy" on a green background

📣 We're hiring a Post Doctoral Researcher in X-Ray Microscopy!
Be a part of a multidisciplinary team combining ultrafast lasers, soft X-Rays, and coherent diffractive imaging in a cutting edge laser lab.
For further details and to apply: zurl.co/l0WPY

BioCOP - the UK’s first multimodular optical microscope - has entered its testing phase. The microscope allows super-resolved imaging of live cells in their native environments.

The team will be focussing on immunology and host-pathogen interactions.

Read more here - www.rfi.ac.uk/latest/bioco...

"We're Hiring - Senior Scientists in Electron Ptychography" On a yellow background

📣 We're hiring a Senior Scientist in Electron Ptychography!
Join our team to lead innovative research in electron ptychography and push the boundaries of high-resolution imaging.
For further details and to apply: zurl.co/c0hzE

Massive thank you to everyone who attended, we loved meeting you all and we had some fantastic, engaging conversations! Also a huge thank you to our incredible speakers for such thought provoking talks and to @rosfrankinst.bsky.social for hosting us!👩‍🔬
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We had a fantastic time at our RFI x WiNUK Women in Science event!👩‍🔬✨
@rosfrankinst.bsky.social @caracroft.bsky.social

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Call for Strategic Partnerships - RFI The Rosalind Franklin Institute are seeking to make a new 5-year joint appointment in each of two key strategic areas for the Franklin, Structural Biology and Artificial Intelligence, collaborating wi...

The @rosfrankinst.bsky.social is currently looking for a 50% secondment in AI to work with me and everyone at the Franklin. Please pass on the info to others who might be interested, and please do get in touch if you would like any more information.

www.rfi.ac.uk/latest/call-...

"This paper represents a unique approach to automatically identifying multiple different proteins in 3D tomographic data. What’s exciting is that it doesn’t just find the proteins we know about – it also helps reveal ones we weren’t aware of." Dr Mark Basham, the Rosalind Franklin Institute

Researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, The Alan Turing Institute, and STFC Scientific Computing have developed a new machine learning model that will improve the detection of proteins in 3D images, such as those obtained by cryo-electron tomography.
Read the full update here: zurl.co/1Z0PZ

Nadisha Gamage posing with the Node's polaroid frame in front of her poster. The text on the frame reads: "Nadisha Gamage #nucleosomes #cryoelectronmicroscopy #stemcells #chromatin #fibsem"

📸 Nadisha Gamage @rosfrankinst.bsky.social took a photo with the Node's polaroid frame during the poster session yesterday #biologists100

The key words of her research are #nucleosomes #cryoEM #stemcells #chromatin #FIBSEM

Are you ready for your next challenge? We're hiring a Contracts Officer!
You’ll play a key role in managing the contract lifecycle, collaborating with research and operations teams, and ensuring smooth contractual processes.
For details, and to apply: zurl.co/YX6T9

A graphic of a quote from a student who took part in I'm a Scientist: "It was great to get answers from real people, not just the internet!"

Last week was our busiest British Science Week yet!

250 classes from 82 different schools connected with 265 scientists. It's fair to say there were plenty of conversations taking place 🌟

Take a look at our report, highlighting some of the stand-out moments: imascientist.org.uk/2025/03/bsw25/