Symposium on the latest range of developments in microscopy
Researchers from Freiburg excited to learn more about the latest methods in high-end microscopy.
The symposium Advanced Microscopy Techniques in Life Sciences was hosted by the Faculty of Biology II/III of the University of Freiburg on 19 February 2013. Junior professor Dr Winfried Römer and Dr Josef Madl from the BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies cluster of excellence organised the event with generous support from NIKON.
The idea behind the symposium was to give the entire life sciences community in Freiburg the chance to find out more about selected new methods in high-end microscopy and their biological applications.
Lectures by distinguished international experts
The event was kicked off by Professor Dr Michael Reth, the scientific director of BIOSS, who stressed the importance of new technologies for many areas in the life sciences, in particular for research at BIOSS. His talk was followed by a very diverse programme, which included lectures on the latest developments in microscopy by distinguished international experts from, for example, the University of Frankfurt and the Max Planck Institute in Göttingen. Key themes included super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The second day of hands-on sessions topped off the symposium. Approximately 40 enthusiastic participants used this opportunity to gain some new, first-hand experience with microscopy at three different workstations in BIOSS’s research building, Signalhaus Freiburg.
Researchers from Freiburg happy with the symposium
A total of 150 researchers and students attended the symposium. Participants were mostly researchers from different faculties and research institutes of the University of Freiburg as well as the University Medical Centre and the Max Planck institutes in Freiburg. Joining them were several researchers from the greater German-French-Swiss triangle area, who used the opportunity to find out more about the latest methods in microscopy. The high number of symposium attendees reflects the local science community’s overwhelming interest in super-resolution microscopy methods and their applications.