Helen Zenner, Author at FocalPlane

Helen Zenner

I'm the Community Manager of FocalPlane. Get in contact with me if you have any suggestions or feedback for the site. My background is in membrane trafficking and have applied electron microscopy, confocal microscopy and super-resolution imaging to answer my research questions. During my postdoc in the St Johnston lab, I was introduced to the power of close collaboration between researchers in optical engineering, probe design, end-users and bioimage analysts. I hope that FocalPlane will be a place for all these groups to interact.

About Helen Zenner

Scientific field: Cell biology, Developmental biology

Posts by Helen Zenner

Interview with Piyush Daga

Posted by Helen Zenner, on 3 September 2024

Piyush was one of the three-minute talk presenters at our recent science communication event, SciCommConnect. At the event, which we co-hosted with the Node and preLights, we were treated to fantastic talks on a range of topics. Piyush’s talk really stood out to us, not least because of the striking microscopy image on his slide.

Introducing SciCommConnect three-minute talk winner Oliver Anderson

Posted by Helen Zenner, on 7 August 2024

In June, the Node, preLights and FocalPlane hosted SciCommConnect, a science communication event focussed on learning new scicomm skills and networking with like-minded researchers. As part of the day, we hosted a three-minute research talk competition, and we were treated to 12 fantastic talks on a range of topics. We had two competition winners, Oliver

JCS–FocalPlane Training Grants

Posted by Helen Zenner, on 15 July 2024

We are delighted to have awarded our first JCS–FocalPlane Training Grants to four early-career researchers who will be attending microscopy training courses over the coming months. Look out for their posts on FocalPlane to discover more about the researchers and the courses that they are attending! The next round of applications for training grants is

Interview with Joel Lüthi and Virginie Uhlmann

Posted by Helen Zenner, on 12 June 2024

At the end of 2023, the BioVisionCenter, a new hub for bioimage analysis, was launched with a kick-off symposium in Zurich. We caught up with Joel Lüthi, Head of Research and Development, and Virginie Uhlmann, the center Director, to find out more about the BioVisionCenter, how they each got into bioimage analysis and their advice

Journal of Cell Science Special Issue: Cell and Tissue Polarity

Posted by Helen Zenner, on 18 March 2024

The Journal of Cell Science Special Issue on Cell and Tissue Polarity is now complete. The original research in this Issue, guest edited by David Bryant, covers many aspects of cell polarity, including the roles of both the cytoskeleton and junctions in polarity establishment and maintenance, polarised membrane trafficking, cell division and collective cell migration.

Journal of Cell Science 2026: Imaging Cell Dynamics

This meeting will provide a unique opportunity to bring together experts working at the interface between cell biology and imaging, with a focus on researchers who use advanced light and electron microscopy approaches, and novel image analysis tools.

Location: Catalonia, Spain

Date: 11 May 2026 — 14 May 2026

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The Company of Biologists Workshop: Revisiting Metabolic Fundamentals

With a focus on unifying concepts rather than specific research areas, the Workshop will provide a unique forum to take stock of the rapidly expanding space of metabolic possibilities and define important questions for future research.

Location: Buxted Park, East Sussex, UK

Date: 26 April 2026 — 29 April 2026

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The Company of Biologists Workshop - Macro to Micro: Quantitative Plant Imaging Across Scales

This Workshop will showcase and bring together interdisciplinary researchers utilising imaging across different spatial levels in plants. It aims to forge links across these differing imaging areas to increase our holistic understanding of plant physiology.

Location: Buxted Park, East Sussex, UK

Date: 22 February 2026 — 25 February 2026

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Comments by Helen Zenner

Thanks Maria, definitely a very impressive piece of work. We included the preprint in our October list: https://focalplane.biologists.com/2022/10/21/microscopy-preprints-new-tool-and-techniques-in-imaging-2/ Do let us know about any other preprints that you are enjoying!

by Helen Zenner in Microscopy preprints – new tool and techniques in imaging on 15 March 2023