Expansion Microscopy Workshop

Expansion microscopy (ExM) allows for physical magnification of preserved biological samples, including cells and tissues.  In ExM, we link biomolecules and labels of interest within a sample, to a swellable polymer synthesized throughout the sample; we then mechanically homogenize the sample so as to enable isotropic expansion by severalfold. Thus, ExM enables nanoscale imaging of large 3-D specimens, with a diversity of biomolecular species (e.g., proteins, RNA, etc) capable of identification and localization throughout extended samples. Since the technique can be carried out using simple chemicals (e.g., familiar antibodies and fluorescent proteins) and existing microscopy hardware, it is extremely practical to deploy in a variety of biological and medical settings. 

Organized by Shoh Asano, Ruixuan Gao and Ed Boyden (all of MIT), as well as Eric Betzig (Janelia), this workshop will teach the theory and practice of ExM, including live demonstrations and hands-on experimentation, in order to empower end users to utilize ExM in their own laboratory settings. During this 4-day (5th day of practice optional) workshop, we will cover sample preparation, the expansion process itself, optimizations for different tissue types and biomolecular species, signal amplification, post-processing of samples before imaging, imaging of expanded samples, and image processing and data analysis. The program will include lectures on each topic, as well as discussion sessions, and instructor-led bench work in small groups. In order to cover large volumes rapidly with high sensitivity and high resolution, imaging will be done primarily with lattice light sheet microscopes available at JRC.

Space in this workshop is limited. Participants will be selected based on research statements and are expected to bring their own, labeled (and fixed) tissues (pending approval by Janelia; samples will need to be shipped to Janelia before the workshop). Attendees are expected to stay for the duration and to cover their own travel expenses. Janelia will provide meals and accommodations.

TO BE CONSIDERED: Applicants must register and submit a brief research statement, including pre-existing images and an idea of how a better resolution serves their particular experiments.

Images can be emailed directly to conference@janelia.hhmi.org.

Research statements should be submitted via our online registration system.

[Note: This system is traditionally used for collecting abstracts for conference talks. Please use the "presentation title" field for the title of your work and the "abstract" field for your research statement (including why better resolution is required)]

APPLY by July 1, 2016 (11:59 pm). 

Contact conference@janelia.hhmi.org with any questions.