Workshops
Clear, Capture, Explore: A Practical Guide to Organoid Imaging
Biozentrum Imaging Core Facility (IMCF)
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Organoid systems offer powerful 3D models but pose distinct imaging challenges due to their size, complexity, and optical properties. This half-day workshop provides a practical guide to selecting and applying imaging strategies tailored to specific research questions.
The introductory lecture will cover key considerations in organoid imaging, including common pitfalls, sample clearing approaches (with examples), and how experimental goals determine technical requirements. We will compare major microscopy modalities — particularly light-sheet and spinning disk systems — highlighting their strengths, limitations, and ideal applications. Data visualization and analysis tools such as Imaris, Stitchy, and SyGlass will also be briefly introduced.
Participants will then rotate through live demonstrations of multi-view light-sheet imaging and spinning disk microscopy, followed by an immersive visualization session using SyGlass to explore and analyze organoid datasets in virtual reality.
The workshop aims to equip researchers with the conceptual framework and practical insight needed to align imaging technologies with their biological questions.
Be Market-Ready: Turning Deep Scientific Expertise into Career Opportunity
Emily Rappitt
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Scientists are trained to solve complex problems, yet many struggle when the problem is their own career. They may feel ready for a change, but unclear on direction, uncertain how to assess options, and unsure how their achievements translate beyond academia.
Be Market-Ready is a highly practical, end-to-end career transition workshop. It takes participants through the full journey: from deciding where they may wish to go, to understanding their value, to positioning themselves for the market and becoming magnetically “hire-ready”, whether it’s moving within academia, within corporate or between the two.
This is not about generic career advice or isolated CV tips. It is a structured, nose-to-tail
approach that helps post-docs move from uncertainty to confident career action, with clarity on
direction, criteria, their value, and next steps.
Grant proposals: building blocks and writing strategies
Philipp Mayer
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For grant proposals, we explore typical building blocks and effective writing strategies. Building
blocks are, for example, problem statement, aims and objectives, literature review, methods,
timetable, budget. Writing strategies help to organize processes in distinct stages for increased
productivity and for smoother collaboration. Applying writing strategies also helps to improve the
quality of grant proposals. This workshop offers not only practical tips, it also motivates you to start your grant proposal.
Effective communication, authentic branding and professional networking for scientists
Amran Saleeh - Explainables
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Content Science Communication is more than outreach. Every time scientists communicate within or outside their communities, at conferences, in proposals or with policy makers, communication skills are key. Starting and maintaining a conversation are the keys to establishing academic relationships. A branding strategy can be a crucial step in winning grants, building a scientific reputation and advancing your career. Networking at all career levels and between disciplines is a key skill to establish professional relationships within academia or the job market in the industry.
How do I establish an authentic personal brand? Which are my options for sharing information? How do I build and maintain relationships in my community or with potential future employers in the industry? We will help participants to communicate better with their academic and non-academic peers, to develop their personal brand and to exercise their networking skills.
We will work with short lecture bits, interactive exercises and improvisation activities. Combined with individual work in our Explainables workbook and your presentation draft we will develop your research idea with regard to establishing an academic brand. In hands-on exercises with professional feedback by our facilitators you will learn to create your own conversation starter template and how to adapt them to different audiences and goals.
Essential tools and tips for effective data visualisation and engaging scientific communications
Isabel Romero Calvo, Morphology Visuals
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During our workshop, we will dive into data visualisation principles, and practice using tools for effective scientific communication, with a special focus on building engaging graphical abstracts.
We will learn principles in data visualisation including salience, Gestalt principles, color theory, accessibility, and graph anatomy. We will also review design principles to apply to graphical abstracts including layout, labels and directional elements. Our workshop will include an interactive critique with the goal of utilising our skills in scientific visual communication.
"Bring your own data and questions! I look forward to working together to help you effectively communicate your science."