We are delighted to provide Caroline Kühne with a travel grant to participate in the EMBL Course - 'Imaging down to single-molecule resolution: STED & MINFLUX nanoscopy' in Heidelberg. You can read about her experience here.
Report
In October 2024, I participated in the one-week EMBL course “Imaging down to Single-Molecule Resolution: STED & MINFLUX Nanoscopy” at the EMBL Advanced Training Centre and EMBL Imaging Centre in Heidelberg, Germany with financial support from IZ LIST. This course was an invaluable opportunity for me to deepen my theoretical understanding and practical skills in super-resolution microscopy, specifically focusing on Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) and MINFLUX nanoscopy — two cutting edge techniques that enable imaging at sub-diffraction resolution.
As staff scientist in the Molecular Microbiology group at HU Berlin, I am responsible for an Abberior Instruments Facility Line STED microscope. My main objective for attending this course was to gain in-depth knowledge of STED microscopy to establish a STED facility platform at our institute. The course was a perfect follow-up to my previous introductory trainings from Abberior Instruments, allowing me to expand my expertise in super-resolution microscopy.
The course exceeded my expectations. It combined theoretical lectures on the physical principles behind STED and MINFLUX with extensive hands-on sessions on high end microscopes from Abberior Instruments. I learned how to optimize sample preparation, microscope settings, and image acquisition for maximum resolution. The course also provided valuable networking opportunities with fellow participants and experts in the field. Sharing experiences and discussing challenges with other researchers helped me gain new insights into the potential applications of super-resolution microscopy for biological research. With the knowledge and experience gained, I am now well prepared to establish a functional STED imaging platform at our institute in the future.
I am sincerely grateful to IZ LIST for the financial support that made my participation possible, covering essential costs such as part of the participation fee, all travel expenses and accommodation. This experience has significantly enhanced my expertise and will benefit future research at HU Berlin.