About

Course description

Optical microscopy provides a quick, direct method to visualize and measure objects on the microscale. A diversity of microscopy tools and techniques enable a unique insight into biological processes at the cellular level. To successfully integrate microscopy in your lab routine, understanding the mechanism of optical microscopy becomes essential.

This workshop will provide a practical guide on how to use optical microscopy in the natural and life sciences. It will give participants the necessary tools to design, conduct, and analyze light microscopy experiments with a focus on brightfield and fluorescence (confocal) microscopy. It will also enable you to better evaluate microscopy data presented in the scientific literature. Finally, you will learn about the microscopy core facility at GT, so you can immediately start to plan and discuss your own experiments!

Who should attend

The workshop is suitable for any (undergrad/grad) student or postdoc at the beginner to intermediate level in optical microscopy. Participants with backgrounds from life/medical sciences, biology, physical sciences and related areas are welcome.

Location

Georgia Tech, U.A. Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Bldg. 1214

313 Ferst Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30332

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

1) Explain the basic physical concepts of light microscopy

2) Identify challenges that come with imaging, especially with biological samples

3) Distinguish between different microscopy designs and their application

4) Define the appropriate experimental setting to visualize a certain sample/feature

5) Conduct a basic microscopy measurement using transmission and confocal microscopy

6) Apply image analysis tools to analyze microscopy images quantitatively

Course Instructor

Gabi Steinbach is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Yunker’s physics research group at Georgia Tech School of Physics. There, she studies spatial structures and emerging dynamics in bacterial communities. Gabi received her PhD from TU Chemnitz in 2016 for her work on the self-organization of magnetic colloids using microscopy.