More than 40 leading scientists from all over the world were present at the international workshop on correlative microscopy in the life sciences in the newly opened ZEISS Microscopy Labs in Munich in early October 2011 to discuss the current state-of-the-art and further develop this crucial technology.
With the aim of further strengthening the development of correlative microscopy in the life sciences, Carl Zeiss invited selected guests to an international workshop in the newly opened ZEISS Microscopy Labs in Munich in early October 2011. More than 40 leading scientists from all over the world took this opportunity to discuss the current state-of-the-art and have encouraged Carl Zeiss to further develop this crucial technology.
“A concerted effort of all related disciplines along the lab workflow will be necessary to move Correlative Microscopy in Life Sciences to its next phase,” stated Dr. Ulrich Simon, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss MicroImaging in his welcome address. Simon pointed out: “The goal of the workshop is to establish a common understanding of the current state-of-the-art, define current gaps and ideally develop a plan for a concerted initiative to address the gaps.”
Six keynote lectures covering topics from “Cryo TEM Workflow”, Jürgen Plitzko, Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry (Munich) to “Correlative Markers”, Mark Ellisman, University of California San Diego (USCD), National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR), “Integrated Systems”, David Piston,Vanderbuilt University Medical Center, “Correlative Array Tomography”, Roger Wepf, Electron Microscopy ETH Zürich (EMEZ), “Coordinate Transfer Concepts”, Perrine Bomme, Institut Pasteur Imagopole and “FIB/SEM Workflow”, Sriram Subramaniam, National Institutes of Health (NIH), illustrated the huge variety of subjects and tasks that need to be addressed. In subsequent work groups, the scientists, together with R&D and product management from Carl Zeiss, discussed which topics should take centre stage in future developments. Finally, the whole group focused on prioritizing the results of the work groups.
Feedback from participants was markedly positive. The organizers of the workshop, Thomas Albrecht and Christian Boeker from Carl Zeiss, jointly responsible for Correlative Microscopy, are pleased at the result: “One participant wrote to us that he felt it was one of the best meetings he’d ever been to – that’s just about the best way to sum up the reactions of many participants. In addition, we have learned a lot from our guests and have a much better overview of the next steps to be taken.”