It has been lovely being back in Glasgow this week, giving a keynote talk at the Glasgow Computational Biology conference & an invited seminar at @uofgsii.bsky.social in the Hogwarts building π°(thank you @liam-rooney.bsky.social) -both such vibrant research communities & highly enjoyable discussions
Participants and organisers from the 2025 Strathclyde Optical Microscopy Course (SOMC) stood together on steps in a modern building.
π | @uofgsii.bsky.social's Dr @liam-rooney.bsky.social recently co-organised the UKβs largest and most comprehensive light microscopy training programme, SOMC 2025, bringing together experts and students from around the world for an advanced upskilling course.
π More: www.gla.ac.uk/schools/infe...
Great first week at #SOMC25, learning microscopy basics through lectures and practicals. We spent today collecting samples on the Isle of Cumbrae ready for week 2!
We might have a spare T-shirt or two if youβre down in Glasgow anytime soon π
Thank you so much to all of the great students, lecturers, demonstrators, and supportive vendors/sponsors - we wouldnβt have a course without you!
And thank you to fellow organisers @shannanfoylan.bsky.social, @gailmcconnell.bsky.social and Brad Amos!
After 10 packed days of optical microscopy theory & practicals, #SOMC25 is over!
π 24 students from around the world
π§βπ« 19 internationally renowned lecturers
π§βπ§ 16 supportive sponsors
π¬ 14 hands-on advanced practical sessions
π 4 poster & image prizes
πͺΌ 1 field trip to collect marine specimens
Grateful for the chance to speak on computational microscopy and ML/AI in imaging. Thanks for having me! #SOMC25 #Microscopy #AI
Our final session at #SOMC25 was a practical workshop on 3D printed lenses - learning how to rapidly fabricate small lenses and spin coat large lenses for optical instrumentation.
Our final lecture on Day 10 of #SOMC25 is on computational microscopy and ML/AI imaging/analysis approaches, delivered by @giudica.bsky.social (@strathbiomedeng.bsky.social).
Our penultimate lecture on the final day of #SOMC25 is on developments and applications of Mesoscale Imaging from @gailmcconnell.bsky.social (@sipbs.bsky.social @unistrathclyde.bsky.social).
Our morning lecture at Day 9 of #SOMC25 is a double act on Raman imaging delivered by @karenfaulds.bsky.social and Will Tipping from @unistrathclyde.bsky.social.
Our second lecture on Day 8 of #SOMC25 was given by JoΓ«lle Goulding (@uniofnottingham.bsky.social) on the theory and practicalities of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy.
Our first lecture of Day 8 at #SOMC25 is on FLIM and FRET imaging, from uses in basic science through to clinical diagnostics, delivered by Simon Poland (@kingscollegelondon.bsky.social).
Day 7 Lecture 2 at #SOMC25 on Expansion Microscopy delivered by @shannanfoylan.bsky.social (@unistrathclyde.bsky.social), featuring some of her own @sulsa.bsky.social funded research on expansion microscopy for βfooteryβ samples.
#SOMC25 Day 7 kicks off with @ralfmbauer.bsky.social (@unistrathclyde.bsky.social) giving a lecture on lightsheet microscopy.
Our Day 6 #SOMC25 afternoon lecture on single-molecule localisation microscopy was delivered by Susan Cox (@kingscollegelondon.bsky.social), followed by rotations around some advanced practicals.
After our morning practical session at #SOMC25, we have our first lecture of the day delivered by @superresolusian.bsky.social (@kingscollegelondon.bsky.social) on STED and super-resolution microscopy methods.
They got really cool and diverse stuff to image - a full 5 days of advanced system practicals next week, from lightsheet to single-molecule. β¨
Plus an image competition from the data generate from the specimens collected.
Students seem to be enjoying it and, importantly, no one fell in the sea! π
Field trip day at #SOMC25 - we took a trip to the Isle of Cumbrae to collect specimens to image for the rest of the course.
Tide pooling, beach combing, diatom netting, copepod fishing, crustacean hunting, and jelly junking. ππͺΌπ¦
Our final activity of #SOMC25 Day 4 is an image analysis lecture and workshop led by @beatricebo.bsky.social from the Cancer Research Scotland Institute.
Our second lecture of Day 4 at #SOMC25 was delivered by me (@uofgsii.bsky.social) covering aspects of live cell and in vivo microscopy.
Saturday morning and Day 4 of #SOMC25 starts with @lemgruber.bsky.social (@uofgmvls.bsky.social @uofgsii.bsky.social) telling us about the most widely used light microscopy methods; widefield epifluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy.
Day 3 of #SOMC25 is rounding off with our evening lecture from Bob Edkins (@unistrathclyde.bsky.social) on Fluorescence and Fluorescent Proteins. ππ¬
#SOMC25 Day 3 practical session of phase and DIC methods kicks off with a demonstration from Brad Amos before the students will spend time aligning systems for phase contrast and DIC, then imaging various aquatic and marine specimens.
Next up at #SOMC25 is our second lecture of the day from @gailmcconnell.bsky.social (@unistrathclyde.bsky.social) on light source for optical microscopy. π‘π¬
#SOMC25 Day 3 kicks off with our morning lecture from Klaus Suhling (@kingscollegelondon.bsky.social) discussing detectors for optical imaging. π·π¬
Rounding off the day with Lecture 3 of #SOMC25 with Polarisation, Interference and Diffraction delivered by @muellenbroich.bsky.social, featuring sunglasses-adorned Brewster and a young(er) @ralfmbauer.bsky.social.
Day 1 #SOMC25 practical sessions demonstrating Abbeβs famous experiments followed by hands on alignment and KΓΆhler illumination exercises using a variety of transillumination setups.
Day 2 Lecture 2 of #SOMC25 delivered by David McKee (@physicsstrath.bsky.social) on Ray and Wave Optics. ππ¬
Agreed - enough to know what to use, when and why, but without the need to derive the confocal parameter on a napkin at the coffee break. π