Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course

⏱️ Deadline to apply for AQLM 2026 is today! ⏱️

Get your applications in to be considered for this year's course. Make sure your recommenders submit their letters as well!

#microscopy
#imaging
#fluorescence
#biology
#optics
#AQLM

🚨 Don't forget! Applications are due Friday 1/30 for AQLM 2026. Please remember to submit on time and remind your recommenders to get their letters in too!

Photos are from AQLM 2023, 2024, and 2025. Will you be in the 2026 class photo?

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Inverted imaged of Cos-7 cell imaged in TIRF with actin and focal adhesions labeled.

Only a few days left to apply for a life-changing microscopy experience @aqlm.bsky.social @mblscience.bsky.social

Application here

www.mbl.edu/education/ad...

Do you know what this is?

The obvious answer is that it's the point spread function of a diffraction limited fluorescent bead. What you'll learn at AQLM is that it's also an effective tool for benchmarking your microscope! Aberrations can't hide when it comes to a single bead.

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Are you passionate about #microscopy? 🔬
Want to build a strong foundation in #imaging skills?

One week left to apply for AQLM 2026 at the incomparable Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. @mblscience.bsky.social

buff.ly/0XCAKm4

We've posted a lot recently about the amazing qualities of AQLM: the incredible faculty, the breadth of imaging topics, the amazing educational experience. Can we pause and just admire the view from the snack room?

buff.ly/0XCAKm4 @mblscience.bsky.social

AQLM Info session Event Timing: January 20th, 12:00pm EST Come chat with the AQLM directors and ask all of your questions about the course.

Think you might be interested in attending AQLM? Come meet the directors and ask any questions you may have about the course and if it's the right fit for you!

🔬 Info session
⏰ Tomorrow, Tuesday 1/20 at 12pm EST
📍 Register here: forms.gle/vnsNe44L5kEZ...

The 2026 Inoué Lecturer is Dr. Sarah Veatch (@veatchlab.bsky.social) from the University of Michigan. Her research program aims to understand how diverse cellular signaling processes exploit emergent behaviors of heterogeneous plasma membranes, using a range of imaging tools. buff.ly/0AgVprR

A tribute to Shinya Inoue and innovation in light microscopy The 2003 International Prize for Biology was awarded to Shinya Inoue for his pioneering work in visualizing dynamic processes within living cells using the light microscope. He and his scientific…

The capstone of AQLM is the Inoué Lecture, held in honor of founder Dr. Shinya Inoue. His catch phrase, "keep your cells happy and optics clean!" is just one of his bits of wisdom that we hope to instill in every AQLM student.

Read more about his history- buff.ly/ft954D2
@mblscience.bsky.social

On the final day of AQLM, we also have a special, hand on session with OpenUC2 @openuc2.bsky.social! They come all the way from Germany to spend a few hours helping us build cube-based microscopes. The perfect book-end to day 1 rails!

Apply now to join us- bit.ly/49YQl7q
@mblscience.bsky.social

AQLM Info session Event Timing: January 20th, 12:00pm EST Come chat with the AQLM directors and ask all of your questions about the course.

Did you miss our last info session? Don't worry, we're having another one!

What is AQLM?
What will I learn?
What will it be like?
Are there snacks?
We will answer these and any other burning questions. Join us! 🔬

📆 January 20
⏰ 12:00 pm EST
📍Zoom! Register here forms.gle/Q5KifPS6TtEe...

Don't miss out. Apply to our 2026 Advanced Research Training Courses today!

Cimini Lab resources A meta-listing of software, training resources, and more from the Cimini Lab at the Broad Institute Imaging Platform

The final day of AQLM begins with a reprisal of Dr. Beth Cimini (@bethcimini.bsky.social) to continue the image analysis discussion, focusing on AI and deep learning tools. Even if you can't attend AQLM, check out the awesome tools and resources coming out of her lab ciminilab.github.io/WeMakeStuff/

Travelling Fellowships About Travelling Fellowships Three of The Company of Biologists’ journals – Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology – offer Travelling Fellowships of up to £3,000 to…

Looking for a scholarship to help offset the cost of attending AQLM? Apply for a travelling fellowship from The Company of Biologists (@biologists.bsky.social)! The deadline to apply for support for AQLM is February 6th.

www.biologists.com/grants/trave...

Microscopy image of a sand dollar embryo (left) and Shinya Inoue at one of his homebuilt microscopes.

I had so much fun at the AQLM info session yesterday. Talking about @mblscience.bsky.social and @aqlm.bsky.social got me excited! Here are photos I shared of Shinya Inoué whose founding vision of a course joining technological innovation and biological discovery remains a driving principle of AQLM.

AQLM Day 8 is super-res! We cover SIM, STED, dSTORM, single particle tracking (SPT) and more, requiring an awesome team of faculty: course director Dr. Diane Lidke (SPT), Dr. Anna-Karin Gustavsson (dSTORM), and director-emeritus Dr. Peter Kner (SIM, etc).

bit.ly/49YQl7q

@mblscience.bsky.social

Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course (@aqlm.bsky.social) Considering attending AQLM 2026? Join us January 12th at 2:30pm EST to ask the directors and a few former students any questions you have about the course! Registration is required via Google form to…

Reminder! AQLM info session this afternoon, 2:30pm EST. Join us to learn all about AQLM and why you should attend this year.

bsky.app/profile/did:...

@mblscience.bsky.social

Today! Join us!🔬

What is AQLM?
What will I learn?
What will it be like?
Are there snacks?

We are hosting an info session to answer these and any other burning questions. Join us! 🔬

📆 January 12
⏰ 2:30 pm EST
📍Zoom! Register here docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Resuming our faculty countdown, Day 7 of AQLM wraps up with an advanced #image #analysis lecture and lab from none other than Dr. Beth Cimini @bethcimini.bsky.social. We're thrilled to have Beth back this year to revamp our analysis and AI labs!

bit.ly/49YQl7q
@mblscience.bsky.social

AQLM 2025 class photo

Considering attending AQLM 2026? Join us January 12th at 2:30pm EST to ask the directors and a few former students any questions you have about the course! Registration is required via Google form to get the Zoom link.

forms.gle/gJedFnzfJhqd...

The cost is posted on the MBL website, but this year the rate is $3600 tuition, $918 room and board. www.mbl.edu/education/ad...

Thanks for considering!

Day 7 of AQLM is #light sheet day! New AQLM faculty but former AQLM student, Dr. Reto Fiolka @retof.bsky.social will educate us on the vast landscape of #optical techniques used to generate a light sheet and why they are all useful.

Apply now to join us! bit.ly/49YQl7q

On Day 6 of AQLM 2026 we will hear from #TIRF expert Dr. Justin Taraska (NIH),
@taraska.bsky.social. Learn all about the critical angle and evanescent field, image some endocytosis, and play with lasers all within one evening!

If that sounds fun, apply now! bit.ly/49YQl7q

Day 6 of AQLM begins with a lecture on live #cell imaging by Dr. Emily Bartle (AQLM course lab director) following the sage advice of Shinya Inoue, "keep your optics clean and your cells happy!". The lab includes hand-on sample prep with Halo-dyes before imaging.
Apply now-- bit.ly/49YQl7q

On Day 5 of AQLM, we dive into #deconvolution with Sid Shaw (Indiana Univ.) and then follow that up with everyone's favorite #confocal #imaging of EB1 dynamics in Arabidopsis!

If you want to learn to be a great microscopist, apply attend in 2026 bit.ly/49YQl7q

On Day 4 of AQLM 2026, we will also have a lecture and lab from Dr. Amy Palmer (@amypalmerzinc.bsky.social ) on #fluorescent #proteins and probes, including measuring #FRET with a zinc #biosensor! Manipulating zinc and seeing a real-time response is always a fun lab.

Apply now-- bit.ly/49YQl7q

AQLM Day 4 covers digital detectors, #cameras, image noise and #quantification with lectures and labs led by Dr. Simon Watkins, Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair Cell Biology and Director Center for Biologic Imaging @University of Pittsburgh. #Image all the beads!

Apply now! bit.ly/49YQl7q

Day 3 begins our dive into #fluorscence #microscopy with a lab and lecture from none other than Dr. Wendy Salmon, @fishcscells.bsky.social, director of the Hooker Imaging Core @UNC. She teaches us about the fluorescence #light path, filters, and #fluorophores!

Apply here- bit.ly/49YQl7q

Day 3 of AQLM also finds us learning about point spread functions from Dr. Keith Lidke. Keith hails from the #Physics and Astronomy Department at UNM, and lectures us on the physics of PSFs-- a crucial background for all the advanced #imaging topics to come.

Apply now- bit.ly/49YQl7q
#microscopy