Rate My Professor Richard Easingwood

Richard Easingwood serves as Scientific Officer and Electron Microscopy Manager at Otago Micro and Nanoscale Imaging (OMNI), a facility within the Research Infrastructure Centre of the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. With an MSc qualification, he oversees the electron microscopy unit, acting as the initial point of contact for researchers embarking on new EM projects. Easingwood advises on experimental design, highlights potential pitfalls, facilitates sample preparation including tissue fixation and cryosectioning, performs imaging via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cryo-electron microscopy, and delivers training on specialized equipment. He also manages contracting arrangements for project labor content, supporting diverse investigations across university departments through the advisory input of the OMNI Academic Advisory Group and Electron Microscopy Users' Group.

Easingwood's expertise in ultrastructure analysis, 3D reconstruction, and image processing has underpinned contributions to 28 peer-reviewed publications, garnering 590 citations. Notable works include co-authorship on 'Variation in structural motifs within SARS-related coronavirus spike proteins' (2024), 'Cryo-EM reveals variation in structural motifs within animal SARS-related coronavirus spike proteins' (2023), 'Three-Dimensional Evaluation of the Cytotoxicity and Antibacterial Properties of Alpha Lipoic Acid-Capped Silver Nanoparticle Constructs for Oral Applications' (2023), 'A lipopolysaccharide‐dependent phage infects a pseudomonad phytopathogen and can evolve to evade phage resistance' (2022), 'A Correlative Fluorescent and Electron Microscopic Technique for Ultralocalization of Trichocyte Keratins' (2021), 'Structural basis for anthrax toxin receptor 1 recognition by Seneca Valley Virus' (2018), 'Cryo-EM Structure of Seneca Valley Virus Procapsid' (2018), 'CRISPR-Cas gene-editing reveals RsmA and RsmC act through FlhDC to repress the SdhE flavinylation factor and control motility and prodigiosin production in Serratia' (2016), 'Genome, Proteome and Structure of a T7-Like Bacteriophage of the Kiwifruit Canker Phytopathogen Pseudomonas Syringae pv. Actinidiae' (2015), and 'Electron microscopic immunocytological profiles in chronic fatigue syndrome' (1997). His imaging support has advanced fields including virology, microbiology, nanotechnology, and pathology, with publications spanning over three decades demonstrating enduring impact on structural biology research at the University of Otago.