AWS Public Sector Blog
Author: Dr. Michael Cianfrocco
Dr. Michael Cianfrocco is a faculty member at the University of Michigan. Dr. Cianfrocco's laboratory utilizes cryo-EM to study molecular machines working within cells and how they are misregulated in human disease. After obtaining a Ph.D. in cryo-EM at University of California-Berkeley in 2012, Dr. Cianfrocco performed post-doctoral studies at University of California-San Diego where he began his initial work using cloud computing resources to facilitate cryo-EM structure determination. Since moving to University of Michigan in 2017, he has used these cloud computing resources for both research and educational purposes.
Structural biologists learning cryo-electron microscopy can access educational resources powered by AWS
Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) — the technology that won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry — lets scientists peer into the molecular “machines” at work in our cells in ways that were previously impossible. Using advanced microscopes, cryo-EM captures images of proteins flash-frozen in vitreous ice, revealing their 3D structure in near-native states. Even as access to this technology improves, many researchers are still limited by computing bottlenecks. The cryo-EM field needs to provide more hands-on training in how to process such large datasets. Amazon Web Services (AWS) allows us to provide training, broadening the impact of this important structural biology technology.