Core Facility – EMCF Electron Microscopy Core Facility

The Electron Microscopy Core Facility (EMCF) at Heidelberg University offers comprehensive technical and scientific support for both transmission and scanning electron microscopy. We provide full-service support as well as project-based assistance, including user training. Our services are also available to external researchers and clients beyond Heidelberg University. In addition, we collaborate closely with the EM facility at the DKFZ. The EMCF is a DFG-registered core facility (RI 00565).

At the EMCF, our goal is to combine state-of-the-art instrumentation with expert knowledge. We apply a wide range of electron microscopy techniques for biological imaging, including correlative light and electron microscopy, electron tomography, array tomography, and immunogold labeling. These approaches often enable direct links between structure and function, helping to address a broad spectrum of biological questions.

EM Facility at the DKFZ

impressions from the EMCF lab: 4 images in a row; from left to right: Charlotta Funaya working with the high pressure freezer; Larissa Eis sitting at a PC next to the Zeiss Leo 1530 SEM analyzing image data; Linda Wiest working with one of the microscopes; Réza Shahidi working with the JEOL JEM1400 TEM microscope

Project requests

All researchers from Heidelberg University and the Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim are welcome to request help with EM processing and analysis. Further external projects can be accepted upon discussion. Come and talk to us to find out how your experiments can benefit from electron microscopy.

To start a project at EMCF you should first send a short description of your EM questions. Thereafter we will set up a meeting with EMCF staff to review the feasibility of the project and to discuss how to proceed. Before the onset of a project the general user regulation sheet has to be filled in and the fee agreement signed.

If you have any question about our services, please write an email to emcf@uni-heidelberg.de or see below for alternatives to reach us.

At EMCF we offer two different fee systems:

A flat fee system in which the use of all equipment except the F20 tecnai microscope is included. Use of the F20 microscope comes with an additional hourly fee.
An hourly fee for all equipments for short term users.

Instrument Booking

Services & Equipment

JEOL JEM-F200 TEM/STEM
Thermo Fisher Scientific Apreo 2S SEM
JEOL JEM1400
Zeiss Leo 1530 SEM
BAL-TEC HPM 010 High Pressure Freezer
Leica AFS II
Bruker SkyScan 1272 microCT
Leica EM UC7 Ultramicrotome
PELCO BioWave® Pro+
Leica CPD300
Leica ACE600 Carbon Coater and Sputter Coater

Further Information on our Equipment

Team

Table

	Dr. Charlotta Funaya Head Im Neuenheimer Feld 345 Office Room 060 69120 Heidelberg Tel. +49 6221 54-6365 funaya@uni-heidelberg.de
	Dr. Réza Shahidi Head Im Neuenheimer Feld 345 Office Room 060 69120 Heidelberg Tel. +49 6221 54-6365 shahidi@uni-heidelberg.de
	Larissa Eis Technical assistant Office Room 059 Tel. +49 6221 54-6258
	Linda Wiest Technical assistant Office Room 059 Tel. +49 6221 54-6258

Selected Publications

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Pahmeier F, Lavacca T-M, Goellner S, et al. Identification of host dependency factors involved in SARS-CoV-2 replication organelle formation through proteomics and ultrastructural analysis. J Virol. Published online October 31, 2023.
Karasu OR, Neuner A, Atorino ES, Pereira G, Schiebel E. The central scaffold protein CEP350 coordinates centriole length, stability, and maturation. J Cell Biol. 2022 Dec 5;221(12):e202203081.
Pham, Minh-Tu et al. “Endosomal egress and intercellular transmission of hepatic ApoE- containing lipoproteins and its exploitation by the hepatitis C virus.” PLoS pathogens vol. 19,7 e1011052. 28 Jul. 2023,
Esser K, Cheng X, Wettengel JM, Lucifora J, Hansen-Palmus L, Austen K, Roca Suarez AA, Heintz S, Testoni B, Nebioglu F, Pham MT, Yang S, Zernecke A, Wohlleber D, Ringelhan M, Broxtermann M, Hartmann D, Hüser N, Mergner J, Pichlmair A, Thasler WE, Heikenwalder M, Gasteiger G, Blutke A, Walch A, Knolle PA, Bartenschlager R, Protzer U. Hepatitis B Virus Targets Lipid Transport Pathways to Infect Hepatocytes. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023;16(2):201-221.
Prasad V, Cerikan B, Stahl Y, et al. Enhanced SARS-CoV-2 entry via UPR-dependent AMPK-related kinase NUAK2. Mol Cell. 2023;83(14):2559-2577.e8.
Goellner S, Enkavi G, Prasad V, et al. Zika virus prM protein contains cholesterol binding motifs required for virus entry and assembly. Nat Commun. 2023;14(1):7344. Published 2023 Nov 13.
Chatzimpinou A, Funaya C, Rogers D, et al. Dehydration as alternative sample preparation for soft X-ray tomography. J Microsc. 2023;291(3):248-255.
Maegele I, Rupp S, Özbek S, Guse A, Hambleton EA, Holstein TW. A predatory gastrula leads to symbiosis-independent settlement in Aiptasia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023;120(40):e2311872120.
Wichers-Misterek, J. S., Binder, A. M., Mesén-Ramírez, P., Dorner, L. P., Safavi, S., Fuchs, G., … & Gilberger, T. W. (2023). A Microtubule-Associated Protein Is Essential for Malaria Parasite Transmission. Mbio, e03318-22.
Kehrer, J., Pietsch, E., Heinze, J., Spielmann, T., & Frischknecht, F. (2023). Clearing of hemozoin crystals in malaria parasites enables whole-cell STED microscopy. Journal of Cell Science, 136(1), jcs260399.
von der Bey, M., De Cicco, S., Zach, S., Hengerer, B., & Ercan-Herbst, E. (2023). Three- dimensional co-culture platform of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte lineage cells and neurons for studying myelination. STAR protocols, 4(2), 102164.

All Publications

Funding Resources

This Core Facility has received funding by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) and the Ministry of Science Baden-Württemberg within the framework of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments of Germany.

This picture shows logotypes of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) and the Ministry of Science Baden-Württemberg.

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