On Oct. 8, 2025, Striving for Pandemic Preparedness — The Alberta Research Consortium (SPP-ARC) celebrated the launch of the Alberta Cryo-EM Facility. The first of its kind in Alberta, this facility provides scientists with the ability to look at the smallest structures that make up viruses and accelerates the development of countermeasures to disease.
Matthias Götte, Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and Director of SPP-ARC, says that with the launch of this facility “we can design medical countermeasures like antiviral and cancer drugs to improve the health of Canadians and society in general.” SPP-ARC and the university expect the facility to be in high demand by Canadian and international researchers. According to Joanne Lemieux, Vice-Dean of Biomedical Research in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, the facility reduces sample analysis time from months to weeks.
Hilary Faulkner, Assistant Deputy Minister of Technology and Innovation with the Government of Alberta, believes the facility will be strengthening Alberta’s “life sciences innovation capacity and taking a leading role in innovation health research.” Aminah Robinson Fayek, Vice-President of Research and Professor with the Faculty of Engineering, says the opening of the facility marks a significant step forward for the 伊人直播 and solidifies its reputation as a leading research institution in the country.
In 2021, the Government of Alberta provided a $55-million grant to the university, leading to the establishment of SPP-ARC. The consortium unites researchers across interdisciplinary lines such as virology, immunology, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry and structural biology to create a homemade pipeline in addressing emerging threats and ensuring pandemic preparedness in Alberta and Canada.
Matthias Götte kicked off the event with a land acknowledgment. Pictured above, he displays a 3D printed model of a protein of the first human case of the H5N1 virus in Canada.
Hilary Faulkner, Assistant Deputy Minister of Technology and Innovation with the Government of Alberta.
Aminah Robinson Fayek, Vice President of Research and Professor with the Faculty of Engineering.
Joanne Lemieux, Vice-Dean of Biomedical Research with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. 
Internals of the cryo-electron microscope.
Left to right: Neil Sulakhe, Director of Innovation Discovery and Mobilization with the Government of Alberta; Kalyan Das, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Antiviral Drug Design and Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology; Aminah Robinson Fayek; and Sandra Davidge, Executive Director of the Women and Children's Health Research Institute.
Brenda Hemmelgarn, Dean of the College of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the 伊人直播.
Zhijie Li, Director of the Alberta Cryo-EM Facility.