Single Particle Short Course
March 16-20, 2026
NCCAT will offer a 1 week workshop focused on the theory and practice of single-particle analysis. The mornings are filled with lectures and stimulating round table discussions. The afternoons provide hands-on practicals to reinforce fundamental concepts and topics covered earlier in the day.
Short-course Agenda
Monday, March 16, 2026 |
|||
| Session | Type | Lecturer | Topic |
| Morning | Lecture 1 – Keynote | Joachim Frank (Columbia University) | Intro and overview of SPA |
| Morning | Roundtable 1 | students | Flashtalks from students |
| Afternoon | Lecture 2 | TBD | Sample preparation for biological samples |
| Afternoon | Practical 1 | SEMC staff | cryoEM sample prep and grid prep stations |
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 |
|||
| Session | Type | Lecturer | Topic |
| Morning | Lecture 3 | SEMC staff | Microscopes and tools of the trade |
| Afternoon | Roundtable 2 | SEMC staff | Making use of local facilities and national centers |
| Afternoon | Practical 2 | SEMC staff | Plunge freezing & TEM stations |
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 |
|||
| Session | Type | Lecturer | Topic |
| Morning | Lecture 4a | Fred Sigworth (Yale University) | Algorithms and foundational math PartI: derivation/explanation of the CTF, FTs. |
| Morning | Lecture 4b | Fred Sigworth (Yale University) | Algorithms and foundational math PartII: reconstruction, classification, maximum likelihood. |
| Morning | Lecture 5 | Reza Khayat (CCNY/CUNY) | Data Analysis and reconstruction workflow |
| Lunch | Roundtable 3 | Fred Sigworth & Reza Khayat | Current and new algorithms to deal with SPA reconstruction |
| Afternoon | Practical 3 | SEMC staff | Processing using cryoSPARC |
Thursday, March 19, 2026 |
|||
| Session | Type | Lecturer | Topic |
| Morning | Lecture 6 | Rich Hite (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) | Interpretation and Limitations of SPA |
| Morning | Lecture 7 | TBD | Developing tools to easily access cryoEM computational methods |
| Lunch | Roundtable 4 | Rich Hite & others | EM challenges and new frontiers |
| Afternoon | Practical 4 | SEMC staff | Autoloader TEMs and Krios data collection at a national center |
| Dinner | all instructors | Group dinner | |
Friday, March 20, 2026 |
|||
| Session | Type | Lecturer | Topic |
| Morning | Lecture 9 | Oli Clarke (Columbia University) | Fitting Atomic Models |
| Morning | Lecture 10 | Justin Flatt (RSCB/PDB) | Streamlining OneDep Depositions of Multiple Related 3DEM Entries |
| Morning | Roundtable 5 | Oli Clarke & Justin Flatt | Making cryoEM information accessible to the community. |
| Afternoon | Practical 5 | Oli Clarke | Coot and model building |
Yes. This will be an in-person on-site workshop. All attendees should be prepared to provide a CDC vaccination card or show their New York State Excelsior Pass showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
A copy of the NYSBC’s COVID-19 policies may be found here.
Yes. Parts of the workshop will be recorded. We will post all learning materials on our website.
Accepted participants will be charged $375. Travel, food and housing costs are not covered. Instructions will follow after acceptance.
If participants cancel or withdraw from the short course:
- 1 month ahead of the workshop a refund of up to 66% minus a processing fee will be returned,
- 2 weeks ahead of the workshop a refund of up to 50% minus a processing fee will be returned,
- 1 week ahead of the workshop there will not be any refunds.