Events

Host: Jörg Enderlein (U GOE), MBExC
Local organizer: Alexander Egner (IFNANO)

Speaker: Carlas S. Smith, Quantitative Nanoscopy, Delft Center for Systems and Control, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

How to shatter the glass ceiling of localization precision using modulated illumination?

Abstract:
“This resolution game is not about lenses anymore.”, Stefan Hell remarked during his Nobel Lecture in 2014. Through replacing the lens maker with the statistician, single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is able to circumvent the diffraction limit, by sparse activation and subsequent localization of single fluorescent probes. This leads to the well-known ‘glass ceiling’ that the localization precision of SMLM improves with the square root of the amount of recorded signal photons.
But why stop there? In this talk, we will show how to improve over the glass ceiling of localization precision, by combining modulated illumination with SMLM. Using illumination patterns, additional statistical information is added to the measurements, which encodes the relative position between an emitter and the illumination pattern.

Our method called SIMFLUX encodes this information using sinusoidal illumination patterns, leading to an improvement of at most 2.4 over SMLM. Furthermore, by projecting donut-shaped illumination patterns through a spinning disk, our SpinFlux methodology leads to a maximum improvement of 3.5 times.
After establishing this, we go a step further and show how to completely shatter the glass ceiling of localization precision. By iteratively repositioning illumination patterns based on previous measurements, such as in iterative MINFLUX, we can zoom in on individual molecules and break the scaling law of SMLM. Our research, awarded the prestigious Biophysical Journal 2022 Paper of the Year-Early Career Investigator Award, uncovers the inherent limits and trade-offs on the localization precision, propelling the frontiers of single-molecule microscopy.

Our findings reveal that, in the absence of background noise and with perfect modulation, the information content of signal photons exhibits exponential growth with each iteration. Nevertheless, the rate of information increase deviates from exponential behavior when confronted with non-zero background noise or imperfect modulation. Through advancing our understanding of super-resolution imaging, our work sets the stage for future breakthroughs in this field.

Please find here the PDF of the announcement:

The Hertha Sponer College Lecture Series is addressed to interested students, PhD candidates, postdocs, and PIs. The overall idea is to fundamentally explain research by providing an overview about the general aims of the six MBExC Research Alliances with special focus on the specific techniques that are developed and applied. The lectures take place on Tuesdays at 5 pm within the semester term, and are offered by MBExC PIs. Subsequent to lecture and discussion, Hertha Sponer College members have the opportunity to “Meet-the-PI” and each other for asking more specific or general questions, networking and socializing.

Poster of the talk:

Host: Jörg Enderlein (U GOE), MBExC
Local organizer: Alexander Egner (IFNANO)

Speaker: Prof. Guillermo Pedro Acuna, Photonic Nanosystems, University of Fribourg

Abstract:
Developments in low-cost microscopy have accelerated greatly in recent years due to the technological advances of modern smartphones. Among different features, these devices have image sensors with more pixels, better quantum efficiencies, better optics design for light collection, and larger focal distances in different lenses of multi-camera smartphones. Distinct aspects of smartphones, i.e., portability and compactness, have also pushed forward the development of specific smartphone-based setups useful in Point-Of-Care (POC) applications like clinical diagnostics, quantification of immunoassays, detection of bacteria, cancer cytology, fresh tissue imaging, lead and microplastics quantification. While most of these applications used optical setups designed for fluorescence imaging, only a few of them focused on the detection of single molecule fluorescence.
Here, we developed a portable and inexpensive smartphone-based fluorescence microscope that detects direct emission from single molecules. We tested its performance by analyzing single-molecule intensity traces with three smartphones. We also demonstrated that it can be used for super-resolution microscopy with a Single-Molecule Localization Microscopy (SMLM), DNA-PAINT. The smartphone-based microscope we present is low-cost, portable, easy to use, and can virtually be used with any smartphone, making an impact on a truly broad audience.

Please find here the PDF of the announcement:

The Hertha Sponer College Lecture Series is addressed to interested students, PhD candidates, postdocs, and PIs. The overall idea is to fundamentally explain research by providing an overview about the general aims of the six MBExC Research Alliances with special focus on the specific techniques that are developed and applied. The lectures take place on Tuesdays at 5 pm within the semester term, and are offered by MBExC PIs. Subsequent to lecture and discussion, Hertha Sponer College members have the opportunity to “Meet-the-PI” and each other for asking more specific or general questions, networking and socializing.

The 5^th European Calcium Channel Conference will be held in Alpbach, Austria, May 26-30, 2025! Registration will open in December 2024:
https://calciumchannel.eu/registration-and-housing-2025/

As the program develops all information will be made available at the meeting website https://calciumchannel.eu/ where you can also find information about the previous ECCCs, for example pictures of the ECCC 2022 (https://calciumchannel.eu/eccc-2022-gallery/).

The ECCC also aims to provide a platform for early career researchers, to discuss their research with the leaders in the field in a relaxed atmosphere. To this end we will dedicate presentation slots for ECRs and organize flash talk sessions. Also, a workshop, organized by the PhD program CavX (https://cavx.at/), will be offered to PhD students and early postdocs.

Quality budget accommodation will be available for ECRs.

Organizers: Gerald Obermair, Karl Landsteiner University, Krems; Thomas Gudermann, LMU Munich; Petronel Tuluc, University of Innsbruck; Marc Freichel, University of Heidelberg; Martin Biel, LMU Munich; Nadine Ortner, University of Innsbruck; Tobias Moser, University of Göttingen; Marta Campiglio, Medical University of Innsbruck; Jörg Striessnig, University of Innsbruck; Veit Flockerzi, Saarland University; Bernhard Flucher, Medical University of Innsbruck

Host: Jörg Enderlein (U GOE), MBExC
Local organizer: Alexander Egner (IFNANO)

Speaker: Maciej Wojtkowski, International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) and Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland

Spatio-temporal optical imaging – new method for in vivo imaging

Abstract:
In vivo optical microscopy with quality comparable to fixed samples remains challenging. We developed Spatio-Temporal Optical Coherence (STOC) Imaging, which dynamically adjusts spatial phase relationships in illuminating light to improve imaging quality. Applied to 3-D imaging as Spatio-Temporal Optical Coherence Tomography (STOC-T), this method uses hundreds of uncorrelated spectral interferograms to amplify ballistic photon signals while attenuating scattered photons. STOC-T provides fast, high-contrast imaging, maintaining high resolution at significant depths without repeated measurements. When applied to eye imaging, STOC-T supports functional imaging techniques like Optoretinography (ORG), which measures photoreceptor responses to light stimuli. We introduced Flicker Optoretinography (f-ORG) for measuring rapid optical path length changes under photopic conditions, achieving reproducible, single-nanometer sensitivity in light-adapted eyes. This approach enhances understanding of retinal responses and photopigment photoactivation processes.

The 9th Women’s Careers and Networking Symposium (WoCaNet 2025) will take place on 4th and 5th June 2025, at the MPI for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Faßberg-Campus (Germany).

Meet a diverse community of students, researchers, and professionals from academia and industry for an inspiring and empowering experience. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with an outstanding lineup of speakers, explore career opportunities at the insightful career fair, and participate in interactive workshops designed to foster professional growth.
The networking dinner on the evening of the 4th of June will provide a unique chance to connect with experts and peers in a welcoming and dynamic atmosphere. Expect thought-provoking discussions, meaningful connections, and valuable insights to help shape your career and personal aspirations.

Don’t miss this incredible event—stay tuned for more details and be part of the WoCaNet 2025 experience!

The symposium is organized by current students in the University. Click here to see the team behind WoCaNet 2025.

For further information, please visit the website: www.wocanet.uni-goettingen.de.

Registration will be open very soon.

The Hertha Sponer College Lecture Series is addressed to interested students, PhD candidates, postdocs, and PIs. The overall idea is to fundamentally explain research by providing an overview about the general aims of the six MBExC Research Alliances with special focus on the specific techniques that are developed and applied. The lectures take place on Tuesdays at 5 pm within the semester term, and are offered by MBExC PIs. Subsequent to lecture and discussion, Hertha Sponer College members have the opportunity to “Meet-the-PI” and each other for asking more specific or general questions, networking and socializing.

Prof. Dr. Walter Nickel from the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center will held a talk about “Molecular mechanism and machinery driving unconventional secretion of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 from tumor cells” during the MBExC Lecture on 7 July, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. at the library of the Humboldtallee 23, room 1.122.

Abstract:
The vast majority of secretory proteins contain N-terminal signal peptides for ER/Golgi-dependent transport into the extracellular space. Exceptions from this general mode of protein secretion from mammalian cells have been discovered more than 30 years ago, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying these alternative secretory pathways have remained elusive until recently. Proteins following such secretory routes have fundamental physiological functions in both health and disease, with Interleukin 1β and Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 being prime examples. The discoveries revealing the molecular mechanisms driving unconventional protein secretion did not only solve long-standing problems in molecular cell biology but also paved the way for new strategies for the treatment of for example inflammatory diseases and cancer.

Host: Prof. Dr. Peter Rehling, University Medical Center Göttingen

The Hertha Sponer College Lecture Series is addressed to interested students, PhD candidates, postdocs, and PIs. The overall idea is to fundamentally explain research by providing an overview about the general aims of the six MBExC Research Alliances with special focus on the specific techniques that are developed and applied. The lectures take place on Tuesdays at 5 pm within the semester term, and are offered by MBExC PIs. Subsequent to lecture and discussion, Hertha Sponer College members have the opportunity to “Meet-the-PI” and each other for asking more specific or general questions, networking and socializing.