ESRIC Super-Resolution Specialist School
By Ewa Ozga, MRC PhD Student in Human Genetics, Genomics, and Disease
The Edinburgh Super-Resolution Imaging Consortium (ESRIC) is an initiative connecting state-of-art imaging facilities staffed by an exceptional team which works towards advancing microscopy techniques and sharing knowledge and resources.
The consortium is a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh’s Advanced Imaging Resource at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC) and the imaging facility at the William Perkin Building at Heriot-Watt University, managed by Jessica Valli.
This year, I had the unique opportunity to attend the Super-Resolution Specialist School held from 12-16 May and take part in the hands-on workshops. It was very motivating to meet with fellow PhD students and early career researchers from across the UK who came to Edinburgh to learn and get to know about the cutting-edge imaging at our facility. The training was separated into smaller groups allowing for a more personal experience with samples and the equipment.
The first session focused on Super-Resolution Radial Fluctuations (SRRF) – a technique which uses a computational approach to achieving super-resolution imaging by pinpointing fluorophore localisation and therefore sharpening the image. We had an opportunity to learn from Aishwarya, a specialist employed at Andor, and see the computation in action using the Andor Dragonfly on a real cell sample.
Following this, we had a networking session uniting industry, academia and various imaging facilities to learn about imaging-oriented careers in both industry and academia.
Next, we were able to see in action the Nikon SoRa – a spinning disc microscope which allows imaging samples while limiting photo bleaching. We also learned the ins and outs of sample preparation, processing, and mastered the controls found in the Nikon programme.
Following the practical hands-on sessions, we attended a talk by Hannah Heil, a postdoctoral researcher from HenriquesLab, who works with SRRF and has developed exciting tools for working with this technique such as an analytical tool called SQUIRREL.
Finally, this was an amazing opportunity to explore the advanced capacity of cutting-edge imaging equipment and meet the managers of several imaging facilities across Edinburgh. Moreover, it was great to meet like-minded researchers working or planning to work with super resolution imaging. This meeting sparked several collaborations and inspired many future experiments!
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