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Pre-Congress Courses

Introductory Courses on Flow and Imaging will be offered again prior to the Congress. These courses will begin mid-day on Thursday, May 6 and continue for a full day on Friday, May 7 at the Grand Hyatt Seattle. The courses are intended for beginning and intermediate users and are excellent opportunities to learn from experts in the field. For a modest cost they provide an amazing educational value.

Plan to register early, since space is limited and registrations will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis! Click here to register for a course. Click here to view the course schedule.

FLOW CYTOMETRY COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Flow Cytometry course will focus on fundamentals of key technologies used in flow cytometry and will illustrate them using state-of-the-art applications.

The course is intended for all students, technicians, and investigators with a desire to refresh and enhance their knowledge of flow cytometry, beginning with fundamentals and advancing to more sophisticated applications.

Small and large-group activities offer great networking possibilities and provide the opportunity to become comfortable with subjects and techniques that form the basis of the ensuing ISAC Congress.

Topics:

Cytometer Operation: Technical Aspects and Instrument Principles

Light Scatter / Fluorescence
Fluidics
Optics
Electronics

Flow Cytometer and Sample Preparation / Handling

Alignment / Quality Control
Sample Preparation Quality: Cell / Staining Integrity
Sample and Operator Safety: Cleaning and Sterilization
Troubleshooting of the above

Data Handling from Acquisition to Analysis

Cell Sorting: from theory to practical issues

INTRODUCTORY IMAGE CYTOMETRY COURSE DESCRIPTION

Modern optical microscopy provides powerful tools for studying biological samples varying from sub-cellular structures through cells and tissues to whole species. The recent development of advanced optical microscopy techniques has enabled scientists to probe the intricate structure and function of cells and tissues with unprecedented accuracy and specificity. Imaging experiments have become the main source of data for scientists to test and validate hypotheses related to basic cellular and molecular phenomena.

Computational methods for automated interpretation and information extraction from biological images have augmented the impact of imaging experiments and are quickly becoming a valuable extension of the microscope.

This course is designed to offer an introduction to the fundamental principles and techniques in use in modern devices. It is intended for a general scientific audience and does not require thorough background in mathematics or physics. A demonstration session will be part of the course. At the end of the course participants will have a proficient understanding of the following:

Topics:

Principles of optics (light, color, diffraction, refraction, magnification, resolving power)
Imaging detectors (photomultiplier tubes, charged coupled devices, A/D converters, noise)
Principles of fluorescence microscopy
2D, 3D imaging methods (widefield, confocal, spinning disk confocal)
Digital images (digitization, dynamic range, bit-resolution, display, file formats, compression)
Digital image processing (deconvolution, denoising, parameter estimation, tracking, registration, segmentation, classifcation)
Biological applications (FRAP, FRET, FCS)