Monash University joins Microscopy Australia

Monash University has officially become the new Victorian facility of Microscopy Australia, a consortium of university-based microscopy facilities that enables researchers from universities and industry to share access to high-end microscopy instruments and expertise in facilities around Australia.

The new facility, which will now provide access to state-of-the-art microscopy infrastructure and skilled staff at Monash University through the Microscopy Australia framework was celebrated in an official launch event on Tuesday 3rd September at Monash’s Clayton Campus.

Addressing the guests representing the wider university microscopy research community, Monash University’s Vice Provost (Research & Research Infrastructure) said the Victorian offering of a Microscopy Australia node is in fact a partnership between the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy and the Ramaciotti Centre for Cryo-Electron Microscopy.

“Under the leadership of Professor Jo Etheridge, the University’s investment into a dedicated electron microscopy centre has provided research at the frontier of a time where characterisation and imaging of materials science has advanced so significantly, we can now do this down to an atomic level.”

“At a molecular level, Monash have also been at the forefront of cryo-electron microscopy, with the country’s first and most powerful microscope for biological electron microscopy, the Titan KRIOS. Cryo-EM is a technique so powerful that it won the original developers a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017” said Smith.

Ian Smith (Monash University)

Jo Etheridge (Monash University)

Microscopy Australia CEO, Professor Julie Cairney also emphasised the importance of supporting research access to these instruments, noting that by providing open access policy to these facilities under Microscopy Australia, this infrastructure can now be of great value a broader user base.

“Open access to Monash’s significant national-scale research infrastructure will be extremely valuable not only for Victorian researchers but also for the wider Australian scientific community.” said Cairney

Julie Cairney (Microscopy Australia)

“We welcome the excellence of the people, infrastructure and processes that Monash University will bring into Microscopy Australia. We look forward to working together and leveraging the value that all partners bring to this NCRIS facility in support of excellent research both within Australia and internationally.” said Cairney.

Centres

Microscopy Australia

We are a consortium of university-based microscopy facilities united by values of collaboration, accessibility, excellence and innovation. Each year, over 3,500 researchers from universities and industry use our instruments and expertise in facilities around Australia. Over 150,000 trainee microscopists around the world use our online training tools.
Microscopy Australia is funded by federal (NCRIS) and state governments and participating institutions. We report high-impact science outcomes from this investment in our annual Research Highlights and online news. We also engage the public in science with unique exhibitions and learning resources.
Microscopy Australia enables access to an array of high-end microscopy platforms and associated technical expertise in strategic locations to efficiently service Australia’s microscopy needs. Microscopy Australia also has formal connections with a range of other specialised linked laboratories.

Ramaciotti Centre for Cryo-Electron Microscopy

The Monash Ramaciotti Centre for Cryo-Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM) is a leading research facility for biological electron microscopy. Our platform provides expertise in advanced electron microscopy for biomedical discoveries at the molecular and cellular level. We offer a range of bio-EM techniques from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to immuno electron microscopy, correlative light and electron microscopy, cryo-tomography and structure determination using single particle cryo-EM. We maintain a suite of advanced electron microscopes, including Australia’s first Titan KRIOS – currently the most powerful microscope for bio-EM.
Together with the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy, we form the Victorian node of Microscopy Australia (formerly AMMRF)

Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy

The Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy (MCEM) is a central Monash University Technology Research Platform. It provides a world-class capability in electron microscopy to enable researchers to solve major scientific challenges. MCEM conducts innovative research in electron microscopy, and provides advanced instrumentation, expertise and training to researchers from across the university, government and industry sectors. A brochure provides a small snapshot of just some of the resulting research impact. MCEM together with the Monash Ramaciotti Centre for Cryo-Electron Microscopy form the Victorian node of Microscopy Australia (formerly AMMRF).