New York Structural Biology Center

What New York Structural Biology Center does

New York Structural Biology Center (NYSBC) is a private non-profit consortium founded in 1999 and headquartered at 89 Convent Avenue on the City College of New York campus in Harlem, NYC. It is jointly governed by nine preeminent New York-area research institutions: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the City University of New York, Columbia University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York University, The Rockefeller University, the Wadsworth Center (New York State Department of Health), and Weill Cornell Medicine. NYSBC describes itself as a global scientific leader in integrated structural biology, providing shared access to capital-intensive instrumentation that individual institutions would not economically procure on their own.

The organization operates three core scientific departments: an NMR Department, an X-ray Department, and the Simons Electron Microscopy Center (SEMC). NYSBC also hosts two NIH-funded centers: the National Center for CryoEM Access and Training (NCCAT), established in 2018 with a six-year $42M Common Fund grant, and the National Center for In Situ Tomography User Facility (NCITU). It additionally operates the NYX beamline at Brookhaven National Laboratory's National Synchrotron Light Source II for synchrotron-based structural studies. Computational and methodological tools used or taught include cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), MicroED, NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, Leginon, Appion, cryoSPARC, RELION3, Dynamo, Protomo, EMAN2, AlphaFold, Coot, and Phenix.

NYSBC's business model is grant-funded rather than revenue-generating in the conventional commercial sense. Primary funding flows from the NIH Common Fund (the 2018 NCCAT award was part of a $128M, three-center program), the Simons Foundation, the State of New York, and recurring contributions from the nine member institutions. NCCAT services, including workshops, short courses, and instrument access, are offered at no cost to qualified biomedical researchers nationwide via a proposal-submission process; users cover only travel and lodging. Training is delivered through annual EM courses (for academic credit through CUNY and Columbia), SPA, tomography, MicroED, Appion, Leginon, and graphene-grid workshops, plus TP1/TP2 cross-training programs and a remote-learning platform. Scientific leadership includes Bridget Carragher and Clint Potter as Center Directors, Edward Eng as Manager, Willa Appel as Executive Director, and David Hirsh as Chairman of the Board.

Name

New York Structural Biology Center

Legal name

New York Structural Biology Center

Website

https://nysbc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NYSBC is a non-profit consortium of nine New York research institutions operating shared NMR, X-ray, cryo-EM, and synchrotron facilities. It hosts the NIH-funded NCCAT national center, providing free cryo-EM access and training to nationwide biomedical researchers through grants and member contributions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Structural Biology Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

Keywords

• Structural biology services
• Cryo-EM facility access
• NMR spectroscopy services
• X-ray crystallography services
• Biomedical research training

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. NIH Common Fund Grants: Primary funding from NIH Common Fund Transformative High Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy program. NYSBC received $42M grant (U24 GM-129539) as part of $128M total NIH awards to establish three national cryo-EM centers. The six-year awards fund equipment, scientific staff, and operating costs.
2. Simons Foundation Grants: Major funding from Simons Foundation (SF349247) supporting Simons Electron Microscopy Center operations, recruitment of cryo-EM leaders Bridget Carragher and Clint Potter, and expansion of facility capabilities.
3. New York State Funding: Partial funding from New York State for 5,000 square foot facility extension to house NCCAT.
4. Member Institution Contributions: Nine member institutions (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, CUNY, Columbia University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Mount Sinai, NYU, Rockefeller University, Wadsworth Center, Weill Cornell Medicine) contribute to consortium operations and governance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NYSBC operates a shared structural biology research facility providing access to advanced instrumentation across three core departments: NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-electron microscopy (Simons Electron Microscopy Center). The center also hosts the NIH-funded National Center for CryoEM Access and Training (NCCAT), offering instrument access, technical support, and structured training programs (workshops, short courses, cross-training) to biomedical researchers from member institutions and nationally.

Product overview

NYSBC is a consortium of nine New York research institutions operating three core scientific departments (NMR, X-ray, and Simons Electron Microscopy Center) plus affiliated national centers. The flagship offering is the NIH-funded National Center for CryoEM Access and Training (NCCAT) which provides cryoEM instrumentation access and comprehensive training. Core departments include SEMC (cryoEM instrumentation including Krios microscopes), NMR Department, and X-ray Department. NCCAT delivers training through multiple programs: annual EM courses, SPA short courses, tomography short courses, MicroED workshops, Appion workshops, Leginon workshops, and graphene grid workshops. Remote learning and cross-training programs (TP1/TP2) enable researchers nationwide to develop cryoEM skills. The organization operates from facilities at 89 Convent Ave, NYC and Brookhaven National Lab (NYX beamline at NSLS-II).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NMR Department

Quantifiable outcome

• NIH award of $42M to establish NCCAT national cryo-EM center (2018)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Oregon Health & Science UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NIH-funded national cryo-EM center network. OHSU partnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the second national center, providing broader access infrastructure.
• SLAC National Accelerator LaboratorymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NIH-funded national cryo-EM center network. SLAC (Stanford) hosts the third national center, expanding geographic reach of the national cryo-EM service infrastructure.
• Brookhaven National LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYSBC operates NYX beamline at NSLS-II (National Synchrotron Light Source II), providing access to synchrotron-based X-ray techniques for structural biology research.
• Albert Einstein College of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution of NYSBC consortium (9 NYC-area research institutions) receiving priority access to all NYSBC facilities and contributing to governance.
• City University of New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution hosting NYSBC facilities on CCNY campus. Part of 9-institution consortium providing mutual access to structural biology resources.
• Columbia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution with faculty researchers participating in NYSBC courses and utilizing cryo-EM facilities. Notable contributor of course lecturers including Joachim Frank.
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution of NYSBC consortium, contributing cancer research expertise to structural biology collaborations.
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution of NYSBC consortium providing biomedical research integration.
• New York UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution with faculty like Bill Rice contributing to cryo-EM education and FIB-SEM training.
• The Rockefeller UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution of NYSBC consortium contributing structural biology research excellence.
• Wadsworth CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution (NY State Dept of Health) providing public health research integration to consortium.
• Weill Cornell MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember institution contributing medical research expertise to consortium activities.
• California Institute of TechnologymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH curricula development award to Grant Jensen for expansion of 'Getting Started in cryoEM' course into comprehensive theory and practice curriculum.
• Yale UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH curricula development award to Fred Sigworth for cryo-EM principles curriculum development.
• University of UtahmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH curricula development award to Peter Shen and Janet Iwasa for cryoEM 101 interactive self-paced training modules.
• Purdue UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIH curricula development award to Yingjie Chen and Wen Jiang for cryoVR virtual reality augmented hands-on cryo-EM training.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory / Stanford Cryo-EM Center: Co-recipient of the NIH Common Fund $128M national cryo-EM center program alongside NYSBC and OHSU; operates a parallel national user facility for cryo-EM access, training, and methods development, directly competing for federal cryo-EM users and funding.
• Oregon Health & Science University / Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Cryo-EM Center: Third NIH-designated national cryo-EM center, partnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; offers equivalent national-access cryo-EM instrumentation and training, competing for proposals and grants within the same NIH program.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory (NSLS-II): Hosts NYSBC's NYX beamline and operates the National Synchrotron Light Source II; provides complementary synchrotron X-ray capabilities to NYSBC's structural biology portfolio and serves as a closely linked partner institution for structural biology research.

Broad incumbents

• Scripps Research Institute: Major biomedical research institute with longstanding cryo-EM capabilities where Carragher and Potter previously led the cryo-EM program; competes for top cryo-EM talent and collaborations, and serves as a reference point for the leadership NYSBC recruited.
• HHMI Janelia Research Campus: HHMI-funded research campus operating advanced cryo-EM and cryo-ET facilities including the Janelia Cryo-EM Center; competes for top scientific talent, structural biology projects, and federal training grants with similar capabilities to NYSBC.
• MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology: Internationally recognized structural biology institute with deep cryo-EM capabilities; serves as a global reference for structural biology methods development and training, and competes indirectly for international collaborations and scientific leadership.
• European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF): Major European synchrotron facility with extensive structural biology beamlines and cryo-EM capabilities; competes for international structural biology users and sets standards for synchrotron-based life science research globally.
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Advanced Light Source): U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory operating the Advanced Light Source synchrotron; provides complementary structural biology and X-ray capabilities to NYSBC's portfolio and serves as a potential partner/competitor for federal cryo-EM and synchrotron structural biology programs.

Emerging players

• Diamond Light Source: UK national synchrotron facility providing structural biology beamlines (including cryo-EM and X-ray) with national-access model analogous to NYSBC/NCCAT; comparable in scale, mission, and user-facility funding model, but operating in Europe.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Structural Biology Center: Operates a dedicated cryo-EM center supporting pediatric cancer and infectious disease research; represents a focused, disease-specific structural biology user facility that competes for NIH structural biology funding and talent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCgd1dW4HQ_yvpRjFc670htw/playlists

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about New York Structural Biology Center