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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Lessons in #microscopy from Wendy Salmon, ALM: Tip 1: Patience makes it go faster. Take 0.5 seconds to make sure you won't crash the slide. Titrate that reagent to determine optimal staining. 📸1: #AQLM students learning single particle tracking with quantum dots with #OxfordInstruments. 📸2: Wendy!

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#ThrowbackThursday with #AQLM! Registration for #AQLM2027 will open in the coming months. Stay tuned for application details and upcoming announcements. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #STEMCommunity 🫂 #Scientist

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#AQLM Series 🧵: #Microscopy Mistakes -- Single Particle Tracking with Quantum Dots Single-particle tracking with quantum dots is highly sensitive to acquisition settings, labeling density, and localization precision. 🔬 📸 AQLM students learning SPT on a #Nikon AXR widefield system!

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The Loeb Laboratory at the #MBL has been central to #research and training since its construction in 1970. MBL courses held in Loeb have trained hundreds of scientists each year and continue to shape modern biological research. 📸 Original photo #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #Imaging🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The Swope Center sits along Eel Pond, anchoring daily life at the #MBL. From meals and housing to informal discussions that extend beyond the lab, the Swope Center forms a space where science and community come together. #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #WoodsHole 🦞 #STEMCommunity

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The Lillie Building at the #MBL was established in 1925 as a purpose-designed space for delicate scientific work. A century later, it remains a place where #microscopy, collaboration, and new ideas come together. 📸 Original photo #AQLM 🧫 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

#AQLM Series🧵: Microscopy Mistakes -- oh, FRAP! What happens after a #fluorescent molecule is bleached with a laser? In FRAP #microscopy, the recovery itself is the measurement. 🔬 📸 @3i Intelligent Imaging Innovations on the Marianas platform; 63× objective and a Photometrics Prime 95B camera. (1/7)

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Happy #MicroscopyMonday - #AQLM students doing single particle tracking using QD655 with THE Louise on a Leica DMi8 Inverted Widefield Microscope! Thank you for all your years at #AQLM, Louise! #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Back by popular demand: Pets of AQLM, round two! Already looking ahead to the 2027 Pet Cohort. 🐾 #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

From Eel Pond, a community of #microscopic life comes into view. Captured in darkfield at 4X, 0.16 NA on an #Evident DP75 microscope, each branching form is defined by the light it scatters, revealing delicate edges and structure against a dark field. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

#ThrowbackThursday with #AQLM. Since its founding in 1980 by Shinya Inoué, AQLM has been closely tied to the evolution of #imaging living systems. Today, it continues to train new generations in quantitative biological imaging. #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡#Confocal

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Happy #MothersDay from this shrimp and her eggs, captured on an #Evident DP75 4X/0.16 NA darkfield microscope. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

That’s a wrap on #AQLM 2026 🔬Thank you to everyone who made this year’s course possible: students, faculty, TAs and vendors. We are looking forward to what this #microscopy community builds next. Interested in applying next year? 2027 applications open in late 2026, stay tuned for updates.

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

It was an honor to hear Prof. Sarah Veatch, PhD, deliver yesterday’s Inoué Lecture, discussing how spatiotemporal pair-correlation analysis can recover nanoscale membrane organization in live-cell single-molecule localization #microscopy despite diffusion and molecular motion. #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Why be out of focus when you could be at #AQLM, learning about microscopes inSTED? Today, our students did rotations with our vendors #OxfordInstruments, #Nikon, #3i, #Leica & #ONI, learning about super-resolution #imaging modalities including DNA-PAINT and dSTORM. #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

We tuned into a lecture by #AQLM course director, Prof. Diane Lidke, PhD, about single particle tracking. She discussed labelling strategies including quantum dots, and their applications using 2D/3D trajectory visualizations and diffusion mapping. #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Yesterday, we tuned into a lecture by Prof. Reto Fiolka, PhD, about Light-Sheet #Fluorescence #Microscopy. He discussed light sheet #optics and different #imaging modalities, as well as implementations in live imaging whole #embryos. #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #BioImaging 🧬#WoodsHole 🦞 #LightMicroscopy 🧪

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

This sleek beam was created through a fluorescence cube on a Cairn OpenFrame, using a Toptica laser. ✨ #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Nickelback said to "look at this graph": A rail-mounted light sheet #microscope creating a sharp intensity peak. So cool! #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Real-time imaging at #AQLM, where “woooo got a signal” is a totally valid reaction! 🔬 #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂 #ScientistLife 🧑‍🔬

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

These bright “comets” mark growth, where EB3 tracking shows the advancing ends of microtubules in real time. ☄️ 📸 EB3 dynamics captured on the 3i Marianas #imaging system with a 63× objective and Prime BSI 95B camera. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #Fluorescence🪼 #Optics 💡

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

The PSF can be measured using small #fluorescent beads, and measured PSFs can help troubleshoot your #imaging. Reslicing the same dataset from GIF1 reveals the full 3D PSF along the optical axis. (5/5) 📸 #AQLM Day 4 Lab GIF Resliced #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Changes in the PSF can reduce image accuracy: --> Optical imperfections distort the PSF --> Mismatch between sample and immersion medium broadens it --> #Imaging deeper into a sample reduces effective resolution (4/5) 📸 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.26.564142 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #Optics 💡

Impact of coverslip tilt on the effective PSF measured on fluorescent beads.

Caption credit to DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.26.564142

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Resolution is limited by the size of the PSF. The width of the PSF depends on: --> Wavelength of light --> Numerical aperture of the objective --> Refractive index of the medium Smaller PSFs allow finer details to be distinguished. (3/5) 📸 Wikimedia Commons #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #Optics 💡

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Light scattering after interacting with an object smaller than the resolution limit is not imaged as a point, it appears as a blurred 3D intensity pattern. This is called a Point Spread Function (PSF). (2/5) 📸 Wikipedia #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #Confocal 🥼

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

How your microscope spreads light: a guide to point spread functions. 💥 (1/5) 📸 #AQLM Day 4 Lab GIF! #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

We attended “Digital Detectors” by Dr. Simon Watkins, PhD. Advances in sCMOS #technology reduce noise, improving sensitivity and dynamic range. With better coatings, Nyquist-matched pixels, and optimized illumination, light loss is minimized and image quality is improved. 🌊 #MBL #AQLM #Microscopy

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

#Cells showing #mitochondria in red, actin in green, and nuclei in blue: a hustling, bustling city of powerhouses, scaffolds, and headquarters 🏭🛣🏢. Captured at 40× on an #Evident BX53 epifluorescence #microscope with a #Hamamatsu ORCA-Flash 4.0 LT3. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Fluorescence🪼

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

All planes in focus, all fields in view. 4×4 EDF mosaic from 16 z-stacks, captured with DIC at 20× on a #Nikon Eclipse NiE with a #Hamamatsu ORCA-Fusion camera. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Hydrozoa from Eel Pond @mblwoodshole imaged in dark field on an @evidentmicroscopy upright #microscope (cool to be able to tile and stitched on the go with a manual stage). These cuties are related to jellyfish, sea anemones and corals. 📸 Photo and caption credit: Nat Prunet @microscopic_farmer

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Pets of #AQLM 🐾 A look at the animals waiting for our students & faculty back home. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂 #ScientistLife 🧑‍🔬

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Moments from last night's #AQLM Lightning Talks ⚡️ This year’s cohort spans #PhD students, postdocs, #microscopy core directors, and professors, each bringing a mix of technical depth and perspective to every talk. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

What makes #AQLM stand out is what builds in a few short days: by Day 3, people are no longer just classmates, but collaborators in the making. Early mornings at the beach and friendly discussions lay the groundwork for professional collaborations that extend well beyond the course. 🔬 #MBL 🦞

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

#ScopeTheScope at #AQLM Day 2 -- we worked through data extracted from images using FIJI, with the lecture given by none other than fellow current AQLM student, Noelle Cataldo. #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #Confocal 🥼 #STEMCommunity 🫂

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

After lunch, we tuned into a lecture by Dr. Stephen Ross, PhD. He emphasized that optimal resolution depends on precise objective manufacturing: proper alignment, high-quality coatings, and refractive index matching to the sample. These minimize distortion and optical aberrations in #microscopy.

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Good morning AQLMers, #ScopeTheScope at Day 2 of AQLM 🌊 Today, we observe wave optics in theory and wave behavior in practice, visible everywhere in Woods Hole. #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪#SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

It's important to find happiness in the *little* things in life. That's why we built a microscope from first principles today at the #AQLM course at the #MBL. Up next tomorrow are wave optics and image analysis 🔬 @mblscience.bsky.social #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #Microscopy 🧬 #WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

#ScopeTheScope at AQLM Day 1 : Ray optics with Prof. Alexa Mattheyses, PhD. Up next: Building a microscope in the very first lab 👀 @mattheyseslab.bsky.social #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #STEMCommunity 🫂 #ScientistLife 🧑‍🔬

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Good morning, AQLMers! Today is the day - make sure you check in at Swope Center and pick up your badge before the Welcome Lecture. Drop a microscope in the comments if you’re already here! 🔬🔥 🛬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡

Modern concrete building at the Marine Biological Laboratory under a clear blue sky, with a blue sign in the foreground reading “Swope Center” beside a grassy lawn.

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

⏱️ 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

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

🚨 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? buff.ly/0XCAKm4

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

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. buff.ly/0XCAKm4

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

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

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

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

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

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

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

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

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

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

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

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

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Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy Course @aqlm.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

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...

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