Structural biology and imaging platform

A new imaging platform lets researchers watch viruses in action, from the atomic jostle of individual molecules to the spread of infection through lung tissue. This matters because many fundamental steps of viral infection remain invisible. Scientists know viruses attach to cells, replicate, and spread, but they often cannot see exactly how the molecules involved change shape, evade immune defences, or assemble into new virus particles. The platform fills that gap by providing access to cryo-electron microscopes and other high-resolution tools, supported by expert technologists who help researchers design and interpret experiments. The research is primarily curiosity-driven fundamental science. It aims to answer basic questions about virus behaviour—how a virus enters a host cell, how cells build structures to trap viral genomes, and how virus populations move through an organ. There is no immediate practical application, but similar fundamental imaging work in the past has revealed the structure of HIV’s surface proteins, which later guided vaccine design. A clearer picture of viral mechanics could eventually inform drug targets or antiviral strategies, though that is not the project’s direct goal.