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Harry M. Williams

@harrywilliams.bsky.social

1.9K followers 770 following 130 posts

Structural biologist currently working on microsecond time-resolved cryo-EM | Currently based in Lausanne at EPFL 🇨🇭

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

❄️ NEW PRE-PRINT ❄️ Happy to see our latest work online. Here we present a super simple solution to the preferred orientation problem in single particle cryo-EM: the use of ultrasonic excitation during vitrification! Details in the 🧵 below... #cryoEM #structuralbiology

bioRxiv Biophysics @biorxiv-biophys.bsky.social · 21d

Overcoming Preferred Orientation in Cryo-EM With Ultrasonic Excitation During Vitrification https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.14.676144v1

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 1d

The EPFL/UNIL sheep appear to be thoroughly enjoying the slow move into autumn.

Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 3d

This is very cool!

Jakob Meier-Credo @meiercredo.bsky.social · 19d

Check out our new preprint on an integrated pipeline combining in situ #cryo-ET with MALDI #MSImaging for single-cell identification and classification from previously analysed EM-grids.
Link: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 4d

The Starbucks people know me by name, I think this counts as settling in a new place, right?

Reposted by Harry M. Williams

Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · 8d

Today, @rcsbpdb.bsky.social introduces Q-score in EM validation reports. Q-score assesses model-map fit. A new percentile slider will compare an entry’s average Q-score to the full archive and a resolution-matched subset. This would help judge whether the fit is typical for the reported resolution.

Introducing the first 3DEM Model-Map percentile slider to the wwPDB validation report

Introducing the latest wwPDB Percentile slider based on the Q-score model-map validation metric

www.rcsb.org

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Reposted by Harry M. Williams

Biozentrum, University of Basel @biozentrum.unibas.ch · 9d

Assistant/Associate Professor in Structural Biology, Biophysics or Biological Imaging

www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/open-positio...

#biozentrum #University #Basel #Professor #Structural #Biology #Biophysics #Biological #Imaging

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Reposted by Harry M. Williams

Caitie McCafferty @computingcaitie.bsky.social · 15d

I am excited to share our new preprint on the CAGE complex, a mysterious hollow protein complex that I first saw years ago while surveying Tetrahymena ciliary lysate www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #cilia #protistsonsky 🧬🧪

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Reposted by Harry M. Williams

Misha Kudryashev @mishakudryashev.bsky.social · 16d

We have a preprint of a book chapter for you: Structural Analysis of Membrane Proteins in Cell-Derived Microvesicles.

We describe how to image membrane proteins in mid-sized vesicles using cryo-electron tomography

zenodo.org/records/1717...

Structural Analysis of Membrane Proteins in Cell-Derived Microvesicles

zenodo.org

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

There's a lot more cool stuff in this paper so naturally I encourage you to have a look! Thanks of course go to the entire team at EPFL, including the wonderful people at the DCI-Lausanne imaging centre who helped us collect something like 2-3 weeks worth of data on a Krios.

Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

For each protein we have not included any detergents or additives, modified the grids themselves (i.e. by producing affinity grids). The samples are in essence native. Thus, the use of ultrasonic excitation here allows us to obtain nice 3D volumes without any chemical modification to the protein.

Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

The conventional sample remains dominated by top/bottom views. The corresponding angular distribution from the ultrasonically excited sample features three additional, symmetry equivalent maxima, revealing that ultrasonic excitation populates side views practically absent in the conventional sample.

Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

Finally, we looked at perhaps the most notorious sample known for preferred orientation: viral hemagglutinin. Even here, we demonstrate that ultrasonic excitation can be used to obtain a high-resolution isotropic 3D reconstruction. Comparing the orientation plots here reveals the key difference...

Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

We also looked at human CRP and similar to the 50S ribosomal subunit, with ultrasonic excitation we observe a broadening of the angular distribution and an improved 3D reconstruction. In this case, the 3D reconstruction derived from our ultrasonically excited sample pushes beyond 4 Å.

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

For the 50S ribosomal subunit, the use of ultrasonic excitation led to a broadening of the angular distribution (with new maxima appearing) and, ultimately, an improved 3D reconstruction with fewer of the streaky artefacts typically associated with directional anisotropy were reduced.

Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

We tested this approach on several different proteins and protein-complexes including the 50S ribosomal subunit, human C-reactive protein, and viral hemagglutinin. Thus, we looked at proteins of varying sizes (kDa to MDa) and with different symmetries (C1, C3, and C5).

Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

Concept: we prepare samples by jetting while continuously exciting mechanical oscillations of the specimen support with an ultrasonic transducer. The motions induced in the thin liquid film continuously detach particles from the AWI, reshuffling their orientations improving the angular distribution.

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · 21d

bioRxiv Biophysics @biorxiv-biophys.bsky.social · 21d

Overcoming Preferred Orientation in Cryo-EM With Ultrasonic Excitation During Vitrification https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.14.676144v1

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Reposted by Harry M. Williams

Centre for Structural Systems Biology CSSB @cssbhamburg.bsky.social · 21d

🌈 A double rainbow over CSSB on Monday! Thanks to @carobarisch.bsky.social for the amazing photo.

@topf-lab.bsky.social @bosse-lab.bsky.social @jankosinski.bsky.social @landaulabcssb.bsky.social @uni-hamburg.de @leibnizliv.bsky.social

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Reposted by Harry M. Williams

cryoEM papers @cryoempapers.bsky.social · 24d

Confidence-guided cryo-EM map optimisation with LocScale-2.0 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.11.674726v1 #cryoem

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Reposted by Harry M. Williams

Centre for Structural Systems Biology CSSB @cssbhamburg.bsky.social · 29d

CSSB's Uetrecht group has revealed new insights into the mechanisms of human corona viruses. Their findings were published today in @natcomms.nature.com

@uniluebeck.bsky.social @leibnizliv.bsky.social

Find out more: t1p.de/7ij0e

Comparing polyprotein processing in four human coronaviruses revealed distinct and common features like delayed cutting between nsp7 and nsp8. AlphaFold3 models (here SARS-CoV-2 nsp7-11) showed that this cleavage site can form a helix. The methyltransferase nsp16 binds nsp10 depending on the virus even prior release from the polyprotein. IMAGE: Kira Schamoni-Kast

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · Sep 6

You cannot beat a Saturday afternoon plane spotting at Geneva. The smell of Jet A-1 really clears the mind.

Reposted by Harry M. Williams

Mine Altinli @minealtinli.bsky.social · Aug 25

RNAi is a powerful tool for mosquito control, but delivery remains difficult.
Could symbiotic bacteria be the key? Mixed results so far highlight the complexity and the gaps in our understanding of RNAi, bacterial delivery, and host–symbiont interactions.

Read more in our recent review👇

Trends in Parasitology @cp-trendsparasitol.bsky.social · Aug 22

Drs @minealtinli.bsky.social‬ @spleonard1.bsky.social‬ @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social & @mosquitomicrobe.bsky.social review #bacteria-mediated #dsRNA delivery for #mosquito-borne #virus control. #RNAi #vectorcontrol #symbiont #engineering #mosquito #arbovirus

www.cell.com/trends/paras...

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · Aug 19

I’m not seeing the problem..

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · Aug 19

What a nice colour though!

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Reposted by Harry M. Williams

Anke Werner @ankedwerner.bsky.social · Aug 18

We‘re looking for a (Full time) PostDoc at the Institute for Virology at Marburg University to help us with our project about the development of Ebola Virus antivirals. Please apply especially of you are interested in or experienced with BSL4 work: stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/6...

Research Assistant (Postdoc )

stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de

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Harry M. Williams @harrywilliams.bsky.social · Aug 13

Nice work, Jeremy et al!

Jeremy Keown @jeremykeown.bsky.social · Aug 13

Very pleased to have our new work out where we perform a structure/function study on the bornavirus polymerase complex with fantastic coauthors. Have a read www.nature.com/articles/s41... @warwicklifesci.bsky.social @loiccarrique.bsky.social @franziskaguenl.bsky.social

The structure of the mammalian bornavirus polymerase complex - Nature Communications

Borna disease virus 1 replicates and transcribes its negative sense RNA genome in the nucleus of infected cells. Here, the authors present the cryoEM structures of the large polymerase protein in comp...