!!! The iNEXT-Discovery project ended on July 31, 2024 !!!
Many of our structural biology services will remain available through Instruct-ERIC.
iNEXT-Discovery offers routine and specialist services guided by expert staff. All access aims to stimulate translational research in the expanding fields of structural biology, life sciences and others. If you are a cell biologist, a biochemist, a medicinal chemist, working with biomaterials or biotechnology, or from the food sector, and you require information regarding structures of biomolecules or biomolecular interactions from high-end equipment please contact us or apply directly for access. We especially also invite researchers with no prior expertise in structural biology to submit research proposals and our access services are available for researchers from academia and industry alike!
Our research facilities are highly specialized structural biology labs that offer services for:
- X-ray methods (crystallography, SAXS, X-ray imaging)
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (ls, ss, in-cell, time-resolved)
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy (SPA, CLEM, tomo)
- Macromolecular biophysics (ITC, SPR, DSF, etc.)
For getting access you need to bring (or send) the material that you want to study to the facility, such as purified protein, macromolecular complexes, small molecules, DNA, RNA, cells, etc. NB: in case you do not have purified proteins yet, you may consider to contact Instruct-ERIC for their access possibilities!
To request services, we use an on-line administration system constantly available for receiving short user proposals. In addition, we prepare calls-for-proposals to address specific technology or applications, or to convince non-structural biologists to apply. We have dedicated procedures in place for researchers from industry who wish to secure confidentiality.
To make use of our access opportunities, please look at our offers, apply immediately or contact us
SOME BASIC PROCEDURES
iNEXT-Discovery access requests must have a clear 'translational component', bridging structural biology to biomedical, biotechnological, biomaterial, food or environmental research applications.
Access should be cross-border (i.e. trans-national), except for applying to our EMBL-facilities.
We use a two-tiered reviewing process: independent external researchers evaluate scientific excellence; technical feasibility is judged by the indicated facility staff.
Access provided for approved iNEXT-Discovery projects is essentially free of costs. Visits and shipment of samples can be supported, often paid \directly by the facilities.
Every researcher from academia and industry, from Europe and beyond, can apply for access!
SOME ADDITIONAL CRITERIA
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DO I QUALIFY FOR ... |
ACADEMIA |
INDUSTRY SME |
INDUSTRY non-SME |
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| ... peer-reviewed access? |  |
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| AND ... | must I acknowledge iNEXT-Discovery? | |
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| AND ... | must I attempt to publish my data? | |
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| AND ... | should I publish as Open Access? | |
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| ... "pay-for-service" access? | |
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| ... workshops and training? | |
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THE DEFAULT WAY TO REQUEST ACCESS
After being informed about our access possibilities and registration you can start preparing your submission. You will be guided to select the "service route" that best fits the aim of your project, then you choose a preferred facility for performing your research. Subsequently, the research background, objectives, and the translational value of your project must be outlined. For each step, detailed information is provided as help text.
In case you consider to access a facility in a different way, do not hesitate to contact them directly (see below). For applying for access, please follow this link, or click the big red button "Apply for Access" at the top-right of our website. Our general Access Guidelines can be found here.
MORE ACCESS SPECIFICS
- Researchers can access each of the three involved EMBL facilities even when they are in the same country.
- Access can be provided in absence or presence of users at our facilities, in some cases experiments can be performed remotely after sample mail-in. In-person visits may be preferred when sample prep or experiments are complicated, or for instance when users desire on-site training and guidance from expert facility staff.
- iNEXT-Discovery can accept applications from researchers from non-EU countries (up to a certain maximum).
- To make access for companies a bit more attractive, we prepared specific 'industry-gateways', one with reviewers that signed Confidentiality Agreements with us, another allows mediation of direct interactions between applicants and facilities.
- Costs for travel, accommodation and sample shipment are directly reimbursed by the facility, always according to their local regulations.
- Complying with the EC Open Science philosophy, iNEXT-Discovery users should always be prepared to publish the data they receive. Also, publications must appear as Open Access (Green or Gold) and acknowledge iNEXT-Discovery as follows:
“This work benefited from access to [the Name of facility] and has been supported by iNEXT-Discovery, project number 871037, funded by the Horizon 2020 program of the European Commission”
FACILITY CONTACTS
In most cases it is possible to contact our research facilities directly for additional information. Sometimes they are even willing to proof-read your application and helping you with data processing and analyses! When you do contact them, please make sure that you mention "iNEXT-Discovery" in the subject.
| FACILITY | LOCATION | TECHNOLOGY | CONTACT | |
| ABSL / UNIVLEEDS | UK, Leeds | EM | cryoEM@leeds.ac.uk | |
| ALBA | ES, Barcelona | Xray | Maria Jose Simancas | useroffice@cells.es |
| AU | DK, Aarhus | EM | Thomas Boesen | thb@mbg.au.dk |
| CBI | FR, Strasbourg | EM | Marie-Christine Poterszman | pmarie@igbmc.fr |
| CEITEC | CZ, Brno | NMR, EM | Katerina Vagnerova | core.facility@ceitec.muni.cz |
| CIRMMP/CERM | IT, Florence | NMR | cirmmp@cerm.unifi.it | |
| CSIC | ES, Madrid | EM | Javier Chichon | fjchichon@cnb.csic.es |
| DIAMOND | UK, Didcot | Xray, EM |
Xray: Jodie Lavender EM: Anna Rackley |
jodie.lavender@diamond.ac.uk anna.rackley@diamond.ac.uk |
| EMBL-GR | FR, Grenoble | Xray | ||
| EMBL-HD | DE, Heidelberg | EM | Virginia Pierini | ic-contact@embl.de |
| EMBL-HH | DE, Hamburg | Xray (MX, SAXS) | ||
| GUF/BMRZ | DE, Frankfurt | NMR | Christian Richter | ric@nmr.uni-frankfurt.de |
| HZB | DE, Berlin | Xray | ||
| MAX IV | SE, Lund | Xray | ||
| NeCEN | NL, Leiden | EM | Ludovic Renault | l.renault@biology.leidenuniv.nl |
| NKI | NL, Amsterdam | Interactions | Hans Wienk | h.wienk@nki.nl |
| RALF-NMR | FR, Lyon/Grenoble | NMR (LY, GR) | ||
| SOLEIL | FR, Paris | Xray | Frédérique Fraissard | useroffice@synchrotron-soleil.fr |
| UU | NL, Utrecht | NMR | Andrei Gurinov | a.gurinov@uu.nl |
USER PANEL
To evaluate the iNEXT-Discovery access services and to be able to effectively network with our users, we established a User Panel consisting of three prominent external scientists. They spearhead the underlying "user community", and together with them we strive for an 'optimal user experience'. The User Panel provides personal and user-informed feedback about our services and procedures, but they also provide strategic guidance.
If needed or desired, any user can contact our independent User Panel members directly with remarks, suggestions and problems regarding iNEXT-Discovery access (click on their names below to see their email addresses). Of course, anybody is also always welcome to directly contact the iNEXT-Discovery Project Manager.
User Panel |
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IMG, CZ - X-rays |
Zurich, CH - NMR |
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