Kye Stachowski wins inaugural CEMAS Micrograph Competition

A fifth-year doctoral student from The Ohio State University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry submitted the award-winning image for the inaugural CEMAS Micrograph Competition. 

Kye Stachowski presented the top-scoring entry titled “Bend before we create,” which features a cryo-EM micrograph of a tetrameric protein-nucleic acid complex. A judging panel of CEMAS faculty and research staff selected the winning image based on aesthetic value while considering the broad appeal of the subject, preciseness, beauty, and elegance of the image. 

The CEMAS Micrograph Competition was designed to further recognize the impactful, artistic work being conducted at Ohio State’s Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS). Every day, users at CEMAS are collecting data that is as relevant to the scientific community as it is creative and beautiful. 

With striking beauty and applicable scientific value, Stachowski’s entry fits that classification.

“For this project, we used cryo-EM to determine multiple structures (only one shown in the winning entry) of Cre recombinase (colored molecules) in complex with DNA (white molecules) to better understand how Cre recognizes DNA and becomes activated to recombine the substrate,” Stachowski shared. “These structures proved difficult to crystallize, and cryo-EM was able to provide high-resolution structures.”

Yoshie Narui, a cryo-EM senior researcher at CEMAS, assisted with data collection. Images were collected on the Thermo Scientific Krios G3i while the protein-DNA complexes were vitrified using the Vitrobot System. Roughly 3,600 movies were collected, resulting in 315,000 single particles used in the 3D reconstruction. 

Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) allows for the observation of biological specimens in their native environment by embedding samples in vitreous ice. Cryo-EM has transformed structural biology, and its use is expanding into other fields, such as small molecule crystallography, infectious disease, and cell biology. CEMAS offers access to a comprehensive suite of instruments needed for cryo-EM. 

Stachowski leverages CEMAS as a member of Professor Mark P. Foster’s research group. To learn more about the group and their research focus, please visit https://research.cbc.osu.edu/foster.281/. 

The CEMAS Micrograph Competition is open to all members of the CEMAS user community. The top-3 finishers will receive a gift from CEMAS and have their image featured on the CEMAS website and social media platforms. Check back soon for details about the next round submission process.