Joint Access Call: Instruct-ERIC and iNEXT-Discovery

The COVID19 crisis is still a dominant part of all of our lives.

As part of an ongoing effort to enhance the structural understanding and knowledge of COVID19, Instruct-ERIC, iNEXT-Discovery and the Covid19-NMR initiative are delighted to announce the opening of a Joint Call for Access, providing external researchers working on SARS-CoV-2 virus projects with far greater access to samples, technology and equipment.

This joint call with iNEXT-Discovery means that researchers from non-Instruct members can also apply for funded, cross-border access. All researchers from academia and industry, from Europe and beyond, can ask for access.

Deadline for Submissions: The deadline for this call has passed

This call is part of our ongoing effort to enhance the structural understanding and knowledge of SARS-CoV-2.

The aim of the international Covid19-NMR project is to determine RNA and protein structures of SARS-CoV-2 by NMR spectroscopy and to investigate the the therapeutic impact of those structures by small molecules. As some of the Covid19-NMR and Instruct-ERIC facilities are highly specialised in sample preparation, these were invited to contribute to this Joint Access Call - making preparations of individual SARS-CoV-2 protein and RNA molecules, as well as their mutants.

Two types of services can be requested:

1. Our expert facilities can prepare SARS-CoV-2 protein and RNA samples for use in downstream research projects. Samples may be used at the applicant's own facilities for research purposes, or the prepared reagents can also be shared with external life science, biochemistry and structural biology collaborators in the field of virus-research.
2. Reagents that have been prepared in the applicant's own lab can be combined with our SARS-CoV-2 material to be further characterised at our facilities to obtain molecular and atomic insights into the functionality of individual or interacting Coronavirus components.

About iNEXT-Discovery

iNEXT-Discovery aims to enable access to structural biology research infrastructures for all European researchers, and especially non-experts in structural biology. For that reason it brings together a diversity of large research facilities and other groups in a single consortium.

It brings together structural biology facilities for X-rays, NMR, cryo-EM and macromolecular biophysics, and aims to make these accessible to new user communities, to develop the methods further through joined research efforts.

A major aim of iNEXT-Discovery is providing access to external users from the European Union, associated countries and even beyond, to all participating facilities. The aim is to not only to provide state-of-the-art instrumentation, but also expert support, to help also non-experts to answer their exciting scientific questions.

Instruct-ERIC provides the proposal system for the project and the use of our facilities, also contributing to networking and communication activities. Instruct is responsible of the sustainability planning for the activities of the project.

Apply for access through the joint Instruct-ERIC and iNEXT-Discovery portal, to begin your COVID19 research proposal.