Preliminary Detailed Programme

Cores Research Facilities enabling and accelerating innovation at the University of Bath

Anneke Lubben, Christy Waterfall

Core Research Facilities, University of Bath, Bath, UK

A key focus in Core Research Facilities is long term operational sustainability, which relies on a concerted effort to sustain the user base, optimize expert technical support, secure and evolve the technology base, and maintain sustainable finances through cost recovery mechanisms. This presentation will outline the approach taken at the University of Bath, with consolidation of key multi-user, cutting-edge, capabilities into a centralized Core Research Facility structure, and a holistic approach to operational sustainability within the wider research infrastructure landscape across the University. Alongside the newly formed Department I will describe the drivers for establishing my role as Director of Research infrastructure and Facilities, and how these two developments have worked to maximize sustainability and evolution of our research infrastructure.

A key component of the operational sustainability model is the work carried out by our Core Research Facilities for industry, providing access to our expertise and instrumentation in support of their research and innovation agendas. This activity also provided the spark for the development of the X-disciplinary Challenges from Industry for Technical Expert Development Programme (X-CITED, www.gw4.ac.uk/x-cited), a regional programme aimed at lowering barriers for technical expert-industry interactions. As one industrial partner stated recently, ‘we don’t want to own expertise, we want access to it, and that is the best way to drive our innovation pipeline’. I will share the interim lessons learnt from this programme, such that the tested approaches can be translated to other regions and sectors.
 

Balancing user support and innovation in a “hands-on users” cryoEM Research Infrastructure

Sonja Welsch

Central Electron Microscopy Facility, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

The operational modes of electron microscopy core facilities can vary significantly, ranging from a purely service driven mode – where expert facility staff members handle all incoming samples and operate all instruments – to a strict hands-on user mode – where all researchers are enabled by staff members to actively operate the instruments required for their projects.

A strict hands-on user mode of operation comes with pros and cons: on the one hand, it allows researchers to actively drive their own projects, control experimental conditions independently and it provides researchers with valuable hands-on expertise that can be utilized in their future career steps. it also allows facility staff members to provide support that is tailored to user needs, typically leading to a more meaningful use of instrument time. On the other hand, this mode of operation requires facility staff members to dedicate a significant portion of their capacities to training and scheduling of newly incoming users and to create and maintain training documentation. In addition, it inevitably leads to instrument use by researchers who aren’t specialists (yet) in instrument optimization and troubleshooting.

We will discuss how the Central Electron Microscopy facility at Max Planck Institute of Biophysics strives to balance the pros and cons of such a hands-on user mode of operation, to optimize both quality and quantity of users’ results and how to balance innovation and continuity of electron microscopy workflows by close collaboration with soft- and hardware suppliers as well as facility users.

Bridging the Innovation Gap: Industry-Focused Synchrotron XRPD Solutions for Pharmaceutical and Chemical Challenges

Fabia Gozzo

Excelsus Structural Solutions (Swiss) AG, PARK INNOVAARE, Parkstrasse 1, 5234 Villigen, Switzerland

Synchrotron-based X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) is redefining structural analysis, providing the pharmaceutical and chemical industries with unmatched precision and capability for material characterization. This presentation will highlight how Excelsus Structural Solutions enables industrial customers to leverage advanced structural characterization by integrating synchrotron methodologies—without requiring them to navigate the complexities of direct facility access. Our innovations in XRPD methodologies achieve detection and quantification thresholds as low as 0.01%wt for crystalline phases in organic pharmaceutical compounds, making these capabilities readily available to industry partners, who can benefit from precise structural analysis without engaging directly with synchrotron instrumentation and technology. These advanced methodologies also allow for amorphous quantification without the need to spike the compound under investigation. By introducing refined calibration techniques—unaffected by inhomogeneous phase distribution within samples—our XRPD methodologies not only meet rigorous industrial standards for quantification but also exceed industry benchmarks.

The talk will showcase successful technology transfer, bridging gaps in knowledge exchange between complex research infrastructures and industry, and emphasizing real-world case studies. These examples demonstrate the impact of custom-tailored synchrotron solutions in overcoming industrial analytical challenges, enhancing both sensitivity and efficiency in structural characterization. The session will underscore how strategic research-industry partnerships not only advance technology transfer but also address critical needs in drug development and chemical analysis, accelerating innovation with practical, scalable solutions to develop higher-quality products.