Erik Zupa is joining our lab from the Slovak Republic, but his university studies started in the Czech Republic. He earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry with a minor in biomolecular chemistry at Masaryk University in Brno. During his undergruadate studies, he was introduced to structural biology and he got hooked on Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). He continued his scientific journey in Heidelberg, Germany, where he joined the newly formed lab of Dr. Stefan Pfeffer. Using cryo-EM he focused on investigating the process of microtubule nucleation and strongly deepened his knowledge and application of cryo-EM. Afterwards, he moved to the USA . He is joining the lab of Dr. John Jimah to study membrane remodelling processes using biophysical methods, cryo-electron microscopy and tomography. In his free time, his favorite activities are hiking, biking, exploring good foods at different restaurants, and playing board games or card games with other people.