Quantitative Fluorescence Microscopy 2024

Application Deadline

• We will review applications that were on the waitlist for the 2023 course in December for the 2024 course.
• The next round of acceptances for the 2024 course will close on Friday, February 2, 2024. These applications will be reviewed in early February, and acceptances sent by Friday, February 16. If any course spots remain available, a second round of acceptances will close on Friday, March 8 with those reviews and acceptances sent in mid-March.
• After this time, completed applications will be moved to a wait list. If accepted students withdraw from the course, we will fill empty course spots from the waitlist.

Overview

This one-week intensive microscopy course will cover all aspects of the technology from the principles of fluorescence imaging to multidimensional imaging in living cells. Lectures dealing with the theory, mechanics, and application of fluorescent imaging methods will be intermingled with extended laboratory practicals in which students will be encouraged to use their own specimens to optimize the utility of the course.

A signature component of this course is the availability of microscopy equipment and teaching representatives from leading manufacturers.

Our goal is to provide students with the knowledge and expertise to implement cutting-edge microscopic methods within their own laboratories.

This is a popular course which fills quickly, do not delay in submitting an application!

Course Director

Course Faculty

Tuition

Tuition: $3,500 USD

Tuition includes on-campus housing and meals. Participants are responsible for travel costs.

Limited scholarships are available, awarded as tuition reduction only. The online application contains a mechanism to request consideration for scholarship support.

Schedule

The course will begin with a welcome dinner on Friday May 17 and end with a lobster bake celebration Thursday evening. Participants depart from campus housing by 9am Friday May 24.

QFM 2024 SCHEDULE

• All lectures will be held in the 2^nd floor lecture theatre in Maine Center for Biomedical Innovation (MCBI)
• Laboratory groups and locations will be provided on the handouts.

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2024

5:00 PM                   Arrival on campus, check-in to housing, get keys at Dining Hall

Late arrival keys will be placed in Dining Hall keybox for pick-up

6:00 PM                   Dinner at Dining Hall

7:00-9:00 PM           Reception: MCBI second floor lecture theatre

SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2024

9:00 – 9:30 AM          Introductions (Watkins)

9:30-11:00 AM        The Microscope: History and transmitted light imaging (Watkins)

11:00-11:15 AM      Break

11:15-12:00 AM      The Microscope: Principles and Optical Choices for Fluorescence (Watkins)

12:00-1:00 PM      Lunch

1:00 – 3:00 PM       LAB 1: TRANSMITTED LIGHT MICROSCOPY

3:00 – 4:00 PM       Fundamentals of Digital Images (Chew)

4:00 – 4:15 PM        Break

4:15 – 5:00 PM        Probes: Stains, Sensors and Reporters (St. Croix)

5:00 – 5:45 PM        Probes: Green-Fluorescent Protein et al. (Kremers)

6:00 – 7:00 PM        Dinner

7:00 – 8:00 PM        Digital Imaging: Optical Filters and Brightness Demonstration (Watkins)

8:30 – 11:00 PM      LAB 2: STANDARD FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2024

9:00 – 10:45 AM     Image Processing 1: Fundamentals of Imaging Processing (Chew)

10:45 – 11:00 AM    Break 

11:00 – 12:00 AM    Optical Sectioning: Introduction to the Confocal Microscope (St Croix)

12:00 – 1:00 PM      Lunch

1:00 – 4:00 PM        Image Processing 2: Fourier Transformation in Image Processing (Chew)

                                    & Fourier Demonstration (Chew)

Image Processing 3: Object Segmentation (Chew)

4:00 – 4:15 PM       Break

4:15 – 6:00 PM        Super-Resolution and Deconvolution (Watkins)

6:00 – 7:00 PM       Dinner

7:00 – 10:00 PM      LAB 3: OPTICAL SECTIONING: Parade of Instruments

MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024 

Please tell the kitchen staff if you are not going to eat dinner in the dining hall tonight. Microscopes will not be available.

9:00 – 10:00 AM       Optical Sectioning:  Multi-Photon Microscopy (St Croix)

10:00 -10:15 AM    Break 

10:15 -11:15 AM      TIRF (Watkins)

11:15 -12:00 PM      Optogenetics, Photoactivation (Kremers)

12:00 – 1:00 PM     Lunch

1:00 – 4:00 PM         LAB 4: a) MULTICOLOR 3-D IMAGING, b) 3D IMAGING AND DECONVOLUTION

4:00 – 5:30 PM         Tips & Tricks: Practical Aspects: Labeling, Antibodies, etc. (Watkins)

EVENING OFF

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024

9:00 – 10:00 AM       Image Analysis 1: Object-based colocalization analysis (Chew)

10:00 – 12:00PM     Image Analysis 2: Analyses of Image Intensity and pixel-based colocalization studies (Chew)

12:00 -1:00 PM        Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 PM         Machine learning in Image Processing (Chew)

2:00 – 3:00 PM         Computer vision in denoising  (Chew)

3:00 – 3:15 PM        Break

3:15– 4:15 PM          Expressing Reporters in Cells (Kremers)

4:15 – 5:45 PM         Tips & Tricks: Live Cell Imaging (St. Croix/Watkins)

6:00 – 7:00 PM        Dinner

7:00 – 11:00 PM       LAB 6: a) SUPER-RESOLUTION, b) REFRACTIVE INDEX MISMATCH

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024

9:00 – 9:45 AM          Sample Clearing, Deep Tissue Imaging (Watkins)

9:45 – 10:45 AM       Light Sheet Imaging (Watkins)

10:45 – 11:00 AM    Break

11:00 – 12:00 PM    FRET/FLIM (Kremers)

12:00 – 1:00  PM      Lunch & Course Photo (weather dependent)

1:00- 2:00 PM           Optical Imaging Choices: Triaging your imaging needs. (St Croix)

2:00 – 6:00 PM          LAB 7: TIRF/FRAP/Photoconversion

6:00 – 7:00 PM        Dinner

7:00 – 11:00 PM       LAB 8: MULTI-DIMENSIONAL TIME LAPSE IMAGING

THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2024

9:00 – 11:00 AM       Image Analysis 4: Analysis of Changes in Images; Object/Particle Tracking (Chew)

11:00 – 12:00 PM     Panel Discussion: Careers in Microscopy (Faculty)

12:00 – 1:00 PM      Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 PM          Imaging Ethics and Reporting Accuracy (Chew/Watkins)

2:00 – 2:45 PM          How to get money to pay for all this! (Watkins) 

2:45-   3:00 PM         Break

3:00 – 4:30 PM         Results!   Student Presentations MCBI second floor

5:00 –  Dusk            Lobster bake, Lab Beach Area, weather dependent

FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2024

self-serve breakfast

Move-out of housing units no later than 9:00am.

Housing

On campus housing is provided. The housing provided in the tuition cost is double occupancy bedrooms with shared bathrooms. Single occupancy bedrooms may be available at an additional charge.

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