The Rosalind Franklin Institute

Quantitative imaging of lipid transport in mammalian cells - Nature Directional, non-vesicular lipid transport is responsible for fast, species-selective lipid sorting into organelle membranes.

Read the article here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Excited to see Karina Pombo García featured in a new Nature paper on lipid transport!
The study shows how cells move lipids with speed and selectivity through directional, non-vesicular transport.
We’re proud of her contribution and can’t wait to see what she uncovers next at the Franklin.

“We were honoured to welcome the UK’s Ambassador to the EU at the Franklin. This visit allowed us to showcase the strength of our collaborations with our European partners, and how our new strategy will open the doors to more collaborations across Europe in the future.” - Mark Driver COO

On Tuesday we were joined by the UK's Ambassador to the EU, Ambassador Lindsay Appleby, during a visit to Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.

Read more here: www.rfi.ac.uk/latest/uk-am...

A collage of photos of the Franklin PhD students with the text "We wish our 4th year PhD students all the best with their next steps!"

We can't believe it has been 4 years since our first cohort of students joined us at the Franklin. As they come to the end of their programme with us, we want to wish them all the best and we look forward to their next steps!

We had a fantastic day with Alzheimer’s Research UK on Saturday!
We made pipe cleaner neurons, chatted about brain research, and joined in with loads of other brainy activities.
Thanks to everyone who came by!

We are in Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford today with Alzheimer’s Research UK today. Head down to make a neuron out of pipe cleaners with us, and find out more about research into neurodegenerative diseases!

Scientist operating an instrument in a research lab at The Rosalind Franklin Institute. Purple border with 'WE ARE HIRING' and website www.rfi.ac.uk displayed.

🚨We're Hiring!

The Franklin is currently recruiting for three exciting roles:

🔬 Postdoctoral Researcher in Quantitative Cell Biology/Biochemistry
🧪 Research Associate in Molecular Dynamics
🌀 Senior Scientist in Electron Ptychography

🔗 Learn more and apply now: zurl.co/DGODy

Make all research data available for AI learning, scientists urge - Research Professional News ‘Dark’ data from failed experiments should be analysed, argue experts

@markbasham.bsky.social, science director for AI, and @mdarrow.bsky.social, head of data strategy for cryoimaging at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, wrote about this topic for @resprofnews.bsky.social.

Read the news story and op-ed here - www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-i...

How do we create long-term research data storage that stores meaningful and usable data?

Without this, we risk building AI on insecure, biased foundations, shaped by gaps, blind spots, and an ever-growing body of forgotten dark data.

A person wearing blue gloves is handling a scientific instrument inside a laboratory. The image includes text: 'The Rosalind Franklin Institute' in the top right corner and 'WE'RE HIRING Research Associate in Molecular Dynamics' at the bottom, with decorative arrows pointing to the right.

🚨We're Hiring a Research Associate in Molecular Dynamics!

We're looking for a biophysicist or computational chemist to join our Liquid Phase Electron Microscopy team.

Interested? Click here for more details and to apply: zurl.co/QSiZH

This innovation opens new doors for understanding the human proteins that fall within this size range, many of which are key to cellular function and disease.

Find out more: zurl.co/NQKQQ

Quote from Dr. Mingda Ye, University of Oxford, highlighting the collaborative breakthrough in cryo-EM imaging of small proteins: “This idea was initiated when solving sub-50kDa protein structures by cryo-EM was almost impossible. To break this barrier, many world-class scientists in different fields have combined forces and it is a great honour to work with them to bring this game-changing tool into reality!” The background diagram outlines the scientific workflow used in the study.

Exciting work from the Franklin, @ox.ac.uk, and @diamondlightsource.bsky.social has led to a new method for imaging small proteins (<50 kDa) using cryoEM. By using bifunctional, bispecific nanobody scaffolds, the team have successfully solved the smallest protein structure to date (14 kDa).

📢We're Hiring!
Come and join the Rosalind Franklin Institute as a Postdoctoral Researcher in Quantitative Cell Biology/Biochemistry. If you are a creative scientist interested in collaborative research across biophysics, structural biology, and biochemistry, then join us!
Apply here: zurl.co/aTGq7

Thank you to everyone who joined us, we hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did.

A large room, with several families with small children standing in different hula hoops. The hoops are arranged in a pattern across the floor with lines connecting them.

Last week we welcomed visitors to the Franklin as part of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Public Access Day! Families helped us to create a people powered network to learn about Artificial Intelligence and how machines make decisions.
@markbasham.bsky.social

📢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