8 million SEK to network for sample preparation expertise
An initiative to launch a network of regional hubs for sample preparation has been granted 8 million SEK in funding over four years from the Swedish Research Council (VR). Linda Sandblad, Head of Unit at the SciLifeLab Cryo-EM node at Umeå University, coordinates this project named NanoSPAM: National Nodes for Sample Preparation And Microscopy. It is a collaborative effort involving partners from MAX IV Laboratory, Karolinska Institutet, RISE, Chalmers University of Technology, and Lund University.
“By establishing a network of regional hubs, at which the appropriate infrastructure and competence for sample preparation and preliminary characterization of samples are present, the project aims to secure that the large investments in MAX IV and SciLifeLab in practice become truly national and are accessible to all sectors of research”, said Linda Sandblad in a press release from Umeå University.
Examples of other projects approved funding through this VR Grant for accessibility to infrastructure include:
- The formation of an external relations office at SciLifeLab to promote academia-industry-healthcare collaborations (Lars Hammarström, KTH/SciLifeLab)
- Making available a new method for multiplex staining of tissue (Emma Lundberg, KTH/SciLifeLab)
