Experiences from Cell Bio 2023

One of the scientific high points for our team was the session Beyond Pretty Pictures: Quantitative Methods for Learning Cell Biology from Microscopy Datasets. While we are very proud of the “pretty pictures” that scientists produce using the Nanoimager, our priority is to generate biologically meaningful data, for example, information on the size and the shape of subcellular structures that often change during pathological conditions. 

One of my favorite parts of a conference is the poster session. I like the opportunity to have a 1:1 conversation with the researcher who conducted the work, most often a graduate student or a postdoc. I feel that this is an opportunity for me to have a direct, open discussion, and ask all the questions I have, without having to speak up in front of a room full of people, which can sometimes be a challenging experience. Specifically, at this conference, it was great to see all the biological contexts in which super-resolution microscopy and SMLM were used. Two poster sessions were particularly interesting:  Imaging Technologies, Single Molecule Imaging, and Super-Resolution 1 and 2.

It goes without saying that the highlight of the event for us was probably the dSTORM Launch Happy Hour, where we got to present our new Training Kit: dSTORM and Discovery Kit: dSTORM in Cells. Many people came to the launch party, and it was a great opportunity to talk to them, hear about their needs and discuss how we can help them. We are always happy to network and engage with the super-resolution community, and we hope that the scientists who attended our launch party found it as valuable and enjoyable as we did. I, for once, cannot wait until the next meeting.