Master class: Light Microscopy
(1.5 ECTS)
Date: 16-20 April 2011
Coordinator:
Lukas Kapitein, Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University (l.kapitein@uu.nl)
The goals of this Master course are:
At the end of the course, students should have a profound understanding of:
the fundamentals of light microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy in particular
the basics of advanced, current techniques in fluorescence microscopy as well as their
applications
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
understand and evaluate current cell biological literature employing these techniques
perform live-cell imaging on advanced microscope setups
perform basic image analysis
design experimental approaches to biological questions using these techniques
Basic organization of the course
- About 25 students will acquire basic and advanced knowledge on optical microscopy, with an
emphasis on fluorescence microscopy. Four two-hour technology lectures will guide the students
through the field of optical microscopy, covering a large array of topics ranging from
fundamental principles of image formation and fluorescence to modern techniques such as
superresolution microscopy (see detailed program). Three one-hour applications lectures from
different cell biologists/neuroscientists will demonstrate how these techniques can be employed
to solve important biological problems. In addition, four afternoons will be devoted to hands-on
practical work, during which students can directly see modern microscopy at work at state-ofthe-art facilities (featuring spinning-disk confocal microscopy, TIRFM, single-molecule
fluorescence, photo-ablation, superresolution microscopy). This part will be complemented by
training in reading and interpretation of scientific literature, illustrating employment of
microscopic imaging techniques. The precise organization of the practical part will strongly
depend on the number of participating students.
- This one week is meant to be dedicated to this course and students are encouraged to work
together as a group and support each other.
The exam (1 hour)
There will be an exam on the material covered in the lectures (50% of the final mark).
In addition, each technology lecture will be preceded by a short examination to test
understanding of the basic concepts of the previous lecture. Questions and answers will be
directly discussed after the test to support deeper understanding. The average score with
contribute 20% of the final mark. The average score should be above a 5 to gain access to the
final examination.
Grades
20% of the grade will be based on the short examinations, 50% on the final exam, and 30% on
participation and presentations.