People
Dr Emma Hesketh
CryoEM Facility Manager
School/Department: Leicester Institute for Structural and Chemical Biology
Email: emma.hesketh@leicester.ac.uk
Profile
Dr Emma Hesketh is the CryoEM Facility Manager for the Midlands Regional CryoEM Facility at the University of Leicester, where she provides strategic leadership in the development, operation, and long‑term vision of one of the UK's major cryo‑electron microscopy hubs. She has more than a decade of experience in electron microscopy, specialising in single‑particle analysis.
She began working in cryoEM with a postdoctoral position in 2015, researching virus genome encapsidation at the University of Leeds, before moving into facility roles as a CryoEM Scientist and later Senior Scientist within the Astbury Biostructure Laboratory, University of Leeds, gaining extensive operational and technical expertise.
Since 2023, Dr Hesketh has managed the Midlands Regional CryoEM Facility, hosted at the University of Leicester. At Leicester, she provides strategic and operational leadership for the facility, overseeing instrument performance, team development, funding strategy and the continual enhancement of cryoEM capability for the university and its regional partners.
Beyond the facility, she plays a key leadership role in regional and institutional research strategy. She serves as co‑lead of the Midlands Innovation Electron Microscopy Network, fostering cross‑institutional coordination, capability sharing, and future infrastructure planning across the Midlands research ecosystem.
She is a member of the Core Executive of the Leicester Institute for Structural and Chemical Biology (LISCB), contributing to institute‑level strategy, governance, and long‑term scientific direction. She also sits on the Midlands Innovation Infrastructure Committee, helping to shape regional investment priorities and the strategic alignment of research technologies across partner universities.
Dr Hesketh is committed to advancing cryoEM accessibility and excellence, with a strong focus on researcher training, sample preparation optimisation, and the development of efficient, high‑impact workflows. She has supported numerous successful collaborations across academia and industry and is dedicated to building an inclusive, forward‑thinking cryoEM community that enables researchers at every stage of their careers.