Events

Prof. Vito Mennella has pioneered the application of multimodal super-resolution imaging in cell biology, in particular to study organelle architecture (Trends in Cell Biology, 2014, 2015). By leveraging the power of 3D-SIM, STORM microscopy and quantitative image analysis, he has made together with his team a series of paradigm-shifting discoveries in centrosome and cilia biology: 1. The organized molecular architecture of the pericentriolar material of centrosomes (Nature Cell Biology, 2012); The architecture and function of a novel centrosomal complex in situ (Elife, 2018) and characterization of a novel type of cilium in the airway (Developmental Cell, 2020, 2020 in press). Most recently he collaborated with clinicians to build super-resolution based tools for translational research in diseases caused by motile cilia defects and apply machine learning methods for disease diagnosis (Science Translational Medicine, 2020). In his presentation he will give an overview of...

One of the fathers of localization microscopy, and the inventor of dSTORM, Pr. Markus Sauer will talk about the present, the future and the past of super-resolution microscopy by dSTORM. He will briefly introduce basic requirements of localization microscopy, its potential use for quantitative molecular imaging, and discuss present obstacles and ways to bypass them. He will demonstrate the advantageous use of single-molecule localization microscopy by dSTORM for quantitative imaging of plasma membrane receptors and the molecular architecture of multiprotein complexes including imaging by 3D lattice-light-sheet dSTORM.

While single-molecule localisation microscopy (SMLM) can generate images of biological samples with nanometer resolution, challenges still remain in extracting relevant and quantitative information from the acquired data sets. Pr. Dylan Owen will overview his lab's work on developing a variety of software tools for describing biological structures from SMLM data and show how SMLM can answer biological questions without needing to generate images. The methods will be illustrated in immune cells where we seek to understand the role protein spatial organisation plays in the regulation of the T cell immunological synapse.

Using recent advances in super-resolution microscopy and single protein tracking, it is now possible to localize single proteins in three dimensions inside integrin adhesions, determine their diffusive behaviors, and mechanical responses during cell stretching. Here, we will present how we have used and developed tools to link the molecular behavior of integrin adhesion proteins with their functions during integrin activation and mechano-sensing.

Here I will present an overview of some of our research focused on creating open-technology to enable new observations in nanoscale live cellular imaging. All these methods are transparent, reproducible and widely available to researchers

You should watch this webinar if you are interested in a beginners guide on how to vamp up your wide field fluorescence microscope and sample preparations to single-molecule sensitivity, including many tips and tricks from my groups work. I will explain tools such as quantitative dual-color PALM imaging using dual fluorescent protein labeling in living cells, details of sample preparations like easy but precise drift correction by red-shifted beads or tracking of dense, highly dynamic single-molecule data.

I'll be talking about our use of Affimers, small non-antibody binding proteins, in confocal and super-resolution imaging and how we look for patterns in super-resolution images.

Key subjects for the conference series are the theory and practice of 3D optical imaging, related 3D image processing, and reporting especially on developments in resolution and imaging modalities. The conference series covers also the rapidly advancing fluorescence labeling techniques for confocal and multi-photon 3D imaging of -live- biological specimens. Typical topics of the upcoming FOM conference will include: • Theory and practice of confocal and multiphoton-excitation microscopy • Super-resolution, nanoscopy imaging: from PSF engineering (4pi, SIM, STED), fluorescent activation/quenching, stochastic/centroid (PALM, STORM, GSDIM, SOFI and related techniques) to TIRF • 3D and 4D live cell and tissue imaging • Adaptive optics for microscopy • Light sheet microscopy • Phase/interference based microscopies, • OCT, holographic, endoscopy • Advanced fluorescence imaging/spectroscopy: FRET, FRAP, FLIM, FCS, SOFI • New fluorescence probes, proteins, quantum...

As science becomes increasingly interdisciplinary, the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting continues its long-held reputation for bringing together leading scientists from the all over the world who work at the interface of the life, physical, and computational sciences. The dynamic five-day Meeting provides attendees with opportunities to share their latest unpublished findings and learn the newest emerging techniques and applications. Despite its nearly 6,500 attendees, the Meeting is noted for maintaining its “small meeting” feel beginning with the Saturday subgroup symposia, which allow attendees to meet within their scientific communities. It is also known for its vitality, demonstrated by the over 900 highly interactive daily poster presentations, the more than 500 speakers selected from submitted abstracts, the many career development programs for those working in academia, industry, and agencies throughout the world, and its advocacy and education programs.

The QBI 2020 Conference will be held at the University of Oxford’s Mathematical Institute, Oxford, UK between January 6-9, 2020. The idea for a conference on Quantitative BioImaging followed from the recognition that there is no conference to date that addresses, in a focused and interdisciplinary manner, the analysis of bioimaging data.

The 2019 joint meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) and European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) will focus on cell biology as the fundamental basis of biology, and will offer sessions on emerging topics such as nontraditional model organisms, and the use of computational modeling and biophysics to “Build the Cell from the Ground Up.”

This course is designed primarily for research scientists, postdoctoral trainees, core facility directors/staff and graduate students working in the biological sciences. Biologists and physicists alike seeking a comprehensive introduction to microscopy and digital imaging will benefit greatly from the course. This 9-day course is limited to 24 students to ensure a truly interactive, hands-on experience. It consists of interrelated lectures, laboratory exercises, demonstrations, and discussions that will enable the participants to obtain and interpret high quality microscope data, to understand and assess potential artifacts, to perform quantitative optical measurements, and to generate digital images for documentation and analysis that accurately present the data. The course also places a strong emphasis on appropriate sample preparation, including choice of fluorescent probes and fluorescent proteins, and tissue clearing and refractive index matching. Particular emphasis will be...

FEMS - FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN MICROBIOLOGICAL SOCIETIES We are FEMS, a pan-European scientific body campaigning to get science - and microbiology in particular - on the European agenda. Set up in 1974 to promote microbiology across Europe, today we are a growing coalition of 53 Member Societies from 38 countries. We bring together around 30,000 professional microbiologists who are exploring microbiology and working to translate that knowledge into impact on the ground, and we are working with similar organizations elsewhere to make our network global. We publish five microbiology journals and organize a biennial congress for microbiologists around the world. Our community can apply for fellowships, grants and/or support when organizing or attending meetings and we work together with these and other partners to track, promote and recognize excellence in microbiology.

The Sfµ meeting aims at bringing together a wide community of scientists who develop or make use of electron, photon, scanning probe and atom probe microscopies. The scientific program consists of twelve symposia: four dedicated to life science, four focused on materials science, and four joint symposia (life and materials science). This congress is synchronized with the spring meeting of GN-MEBA, providing the opportunity for shared discussions.

ELMI conferences were established as a unique networking opportunity providing exchange of information between European scientists working in the field of light microscopy and the manufacturers of microscopy equipment. They have become a regular meeting place of scientists who develop and apply advanced light microscopy in their research, as well as becoming a crucial conference for imaging networks and people working in imaging facilities.

Cell Mech is a conference that has been organised every other year in Europe for the last 15 years. The conference series gathers biologists, mathematicians, physicists and engineers to discuss various aspects of cell mechanics. It has a strong focus on fostering interactions between students and established PIs in the field. The workshop format offers ample time for interactions and presentation of new or unpublished work. This year will bring together people interested in biological forces from different origins (osmotic forces, cytoskeletal forces, compressive force from the microenvironment...) to foster a more integrated view of cell mechanics.

The origin of the FOM conference series lies in the three-dimensional imaging capabilities of confocal microscopy, together with the associated 3D image processing. (...) The last years especially have seen the successful realization of sub-Abbe resolution optical imaging by a number approaches to such a degree that the term nanoscopy has been rightfully been introduced. (...) The FOM conferences constitute an effective meeting point for developers and users working in this rapidly evolving field, playing an important role in the dissemination of information about new developments.

The Biophysical Society was founded in the 1950s to lead the development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics through many activities including meetings, publications, community outreach, and career placement. The Society members, of which there are currently over 9,000, work in academia, industry, and government agencies worldwide. Membership is open to scientists who have educational, research, or practical experience in biophysics or an allied scientific field (excerpted from the Biophysical Society’s Constitution and Bylaws).

The next Facility Managers Meeting aimed at people running or working in light microscopy facilities will be held at the University of Liverpool. From very humble beginnings, we have grown to a much more significant and influential community of facility managers. Numbers of attendees have grown 10 fold since the first meeting in 2006 as more and more facilities have opened. We now represent one of the best organised facility groupings in the UK if not indeed the world. (...)

ASCB is an inclusive, international community of biologists studying the cell, the fundamental unit of life. We are dedicated to advancing scientific discovery, advocating sound research policies, improving education, promoting professional development, and increasing diversity in the scientific workforce.

For many centuries improving the resolution of light microscopy meant perfecting lenses and other optical elements, a strategy whose limits became evident with the discovery of the diffraction barrier in 1873. (...) At the turn of this century, the diffraction barrier was radically overcome, and it became clear that lens-based fluorescence microscopes can resolve features down to the molecular scale. At its most fundamental level, this breakthrough in resolution is based on the fact that tiny features in the sample are no longer discerned by the focusing of light. (...)

Les développements en imagerie sont de plus en plus résolutifs et rapides, faiblement invasifs et adaptables à l’étude moléculaire dans les organismes vivants. Ils nécessitent à la fois d’assurer de manière récurrente des transferts de savoir au sein de la communauté, de former les jeunes générations à cette interface dans la pluralité de ses composantes, tout en promouvant l’intégration de nouvelles compétences, en particulier dans le domaine de l’analyse, la gestion des données et la modélisation. Ce sont bien les objectifs de l’école « Mifobio »!