FocalPlane - Where biology meets microscopy

Welcome to FocalPlane

FocalPlane is a community site for anyone who uses microscopy in their research. It is a place where you can interact with a global community of imaging scientists, engineers, chemists, and bioimage analysts.

FocalPlane is your site and once registered, you are free to share a blog post, add an image to our gallery, post a job advert or put up an event listing.

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Recent posts

How do your core facilities compare globally? Results from the 2021 International Microscopy and Flow Cytometry Surveys

Posted by kczymmek@danforthcenter.org, on 6 October 2026

By Jessica Back, Kirk Czymmek, Derek Davies, Peter O’Toole How does your facility stack up against others around the world? How many instruments per staff member is typical? What does everyone charge for an assisted session on a cell sorter? These are questions that core facility managers and directors wrestle with constantly, often without any reliable

Microscopy preprints: applications in biology

Posted by FocalPlane, on 5 October 2026

Here is a curated selection of preprints published recently. In this post, we share preprints that use microscopy tools to answer questions in biology.

The Company of Biologists Workshop – Membrane Function: Insights from Cellular Diversity and Evolution

Posted by FocalPlane, on 28 September 2026

Applications are open for early-career researchers to apply for funded places to attend this Workshop.

FocalPlane features… cell migration recordings with Ankita Jha, Raphaël Clément and Katrina Velle

Posted by FocalPlane, on 25 September 2026

On 17 September 2026, we held the second webinar in our FocalPlane features… series on emergent models and quantitative analysis of cell migration, organised by Pablo J. Sáez and Valeria Venturini. In this webinar, we heard from Ankita Jha on ‘Decoding bleb driven signaling in cancer disease progression’, Raphaël Clément on ‘Navigating without neurons or

Featured image with Ádám Soós

Posted by FocalPlane, on 25 September 2026

Our featured image, acquired by Ádám Soós is titled “Guided by GDNF: enteric neural crest cells weaving the future gut nervous system.” It shows enteric neural crest-derived cells streaming out from an embryonic day 6 chicken midgut explant, forming an interconnected migratory network on a fibronectin-coated surface. The culture was exposed to 20 ng/ml GDNF,

I2KxBINA 2026: Cultivating the Multi-scale Imaging Frontier

Posted by Ethan A. Perets, on 24 September 2026

We are continuing to build upon our tradition of gathering scientists to discuss cutting edge open-source solutions and interactive tutorials. Can’t join us in Madison? You can still be part of I2KxBINA 2026 virtually via Zoom Events!

Register now for FocalPlane features… quantitative plant imaging

Posted by FocalPlane, on 23 September 2026

In this webinar, we’ll hear from Marcel Dickmanns on ‘Exploring the Molecular Landscape within Plant Cells by Cryo-Electron Tomography’ and Laura Copeland on ‘Multimodal Quantitative Fourier Ptychographic Microscopy and Fluorescence Imaging Reveals Stable Bacterial Colonisation Architecture Under Phosphate Limitation’.

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