Helen Zenner
helenzsci.bsky.social
Helen Zenner
@helenzsci.bsky.social
Community Manager at FocalPlane (@focalplane.bsky.social) and Journal of Cell Science (@jcellsci.bsky.social) Online Editor. Views my own.
Now that's image stitching!

My fun discovery this Friday is this montage of 33 electron micrographs in published in @jcellsci.bsky.social in the 1960s. The original measured 3ft square!
October 3, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
Probably the coolest thing I learned at #ABRF was that there is a website called "core in a box" all about starting a core and management. Check it out!
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/research/res...
Core in a Box
www.hopkinsmedicine.org
March 31, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
#MicroscopyMonday!

Join @bioimagingna.bsky.social for a conversation with @clairebrown514.bsky.social as part of our Career Speaker series!

Learn More & Register here
buff.ly/9nB1qnC
March 31, 2025 at 2:59 PM
At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to chat with both Jennifer and Manu. Check out these interviews in @jcellsci.bsky.social to find out more about these extraordinary scientists!
Our final plenary session at #biologists100 is on emerging technologies with talks from Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz and Manu Prakash @prakashlab.bsky.social. You can read our interviews with Jennifer and Manu in JCS: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
March 27, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
We're turning 15 this year🥳The past and present Community Managers got together to chat about what it's like working at the Node, and what they've been doing since:
@easternblot.bsky.social @catcvicente.bsky.social @aidanmaartens.bsky.social @helenzsci.bsky.social @joyceyu.bsky.social #biologists100
A conversation with the Node Community Managers, past and present - the Node
To mark the 15th birthday of the Node, the past and present Community Managers of the Node got together to chat about what it's like working at the Node, and how this job has influenced their subseque...
thenode.biologists.com
March 24, 2025 at 11:32 AM
I always get a little nervous when attending conferences and knowing what to expect helps. We give a few insights into what to expect at #biologists100 & do reach out if you have any qs about the meeting.
Also, there's a possibility that I once went to the wrong door at the ACC, so we explain all!!
Attending #biologists100 in Liverpool?

We’ve put together a pre-conference recording together with @the-node.bsky.social and @prelights.bsky.social.
And @jens-cells.bsky.social has published a general conference guide on the Node to help you prep!
focalplane.biologists.com/2025/03/17/b...
Biologists @ 100 video guide - FocalPlane
Biologists @ 100 video guide - News
focalplane.biologists.com
March 18, 2025 at 10:35 AM
It's almost impossible to choose!

We're excited to get the images back from the printers, along with something for another little project that our community sites are working on with our conference reporters 😉 for #biologists100.
A very hard decision 🙈 but choosing a favourite will help them feature at #biologists100!!
Voting is open in our image competition with @the-node.bsky.social.

Thanks to everyone that entered, and congratulations to our final 15. Now it's your turn to pick your favourite!

Look out for our gallery of images at the Biologists @ 100 conference #biologists100.
March 13, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
@the-node.bsky.social #biologists100 reporter @jens-cells.bsky.social is putting together a conference survival guide. What are your top tips for getting the most out of your conference experience.
🧪Getting ready for #biologists100; what’s the best way to prepare? 🤔
Conference Survival Guide Needed! 📝 If you could give ONE piece of advice to a first-time attendee, what would it be? Let’s help the newcomers thrive! ✨ #SciComm #ConferenceTips #AcademicLife #AcademicSky @the-node.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Good choice! But if we are allowed to play favourites, I thought this one from Malina Iwanski, Lukas Kapitein and team was pretty cool.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
If we had to pick a favorite 👇
"Geometry-driven asymmetric cell divisions pattern cell cycles and zygotic genome activation in the zebrafish embryo" from @heisenbergcplab.bsky.social et al.

🔗 to preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🔗 to full list: focalplane.biologists.com/2025/02/21/m...
Our preprints list is now up on FocalPlane! This week we focus on research that has applied microscopy to answer questions in biology. As always, let us know if there are any recent preprints that you think we should highlight.

focalplane.biologists.com/2025/02/21/m...
February 21, 2025 at 3:34 PM
As part of @biologists.bsky.social 100-year anniversary, it has been fun to look at the older journal content. For this post, I went all the way back to 1853 to look at early efforts at segmentation, wise words on peer review and the benefits of sharing tips and tricks rather than whole stories.
Bringing the past into the future with JCS and FocalPlane - FocalPlane
Bringing the past into the future with JCS and FocalPlane - News
focalplane.biologists.com
February 19, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
There's still time to enter our image competition for your chance to win £250!
All the shortlisted images will be displayed in our gallery at the Biologists @ 100 conference in Liverpool.

Deadline: 24 February 2025
#Biologists100

focalplane.biologists.com/2025/02/05/t...
February 17, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
#FocalPlaneCorrespondent Greg Redpath shares the first post in his biosensor series. Greg discusses the key considerations in selecting & using signalling biosensors and highlights GFP, the original biosensor.
focalplane.biologists.com/2025/01/16/h...
Highlighting signalling biosensors 1. - FocalPlane
Highlighting signalling biosensors 1. - How to
focalplane.biologists.com
January 30, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
Read about the experiences of our 2024 correspondents, Daniel Doucet, @sdutta.bsky.social and Greg Redpath, in our end of year post: focalplane.biologists.com/2024/12/19/o...
Our 2024 FocalPlane correspondents - Daniel Doucet, Subhajit Dutta and Greg Redpath - FocalPlane
Our 2024 FocalPlane correspondents - Daniel Doucet, Subhajit Dutta and Greg Redpath - Interviews
focalplane.biologists.com
January 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
We are looking for our next cohort of #FocalPlaneCorrespondents! If you are interested in getting some #scicomm experience alongside your research, check out our call and drop us an email if you have any questions.

Deadline for applications: 20 January 2025
Become a FocalPlane correspondent - FocalPlane
Become a FocalPlane correspondent - Discussions
focalplane.biologists.com
January 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
Our first preprint list for 2025 is focussed on research using microscopy tools to answer questions in biology. As always, please let us know if there are other preprints that you’d like to see on our list.
focalplane.biologists.com/2025/01/10/m...
Microscopy preprints - applications in biology - FocalPlane
Microscopy preprints - applications in biology - News
focalplane.biologists.com
January 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
As 2024 comes to a close we caught up with our fabulous #FocalPlaneCorrespondents Daniel Doucet, @sdutta.bsky.social and Greg Redpath. In our interviews we chat about their research, their FocalPlane posts and their experiences as correspondents.
focalplane.biologists.com/2024/12/19/o...
Our 2024 FocalPlane correspondents - Daniel Doucet, Subhajit Dutta and Greg Redpath - FocalPlane
Our 2024 FocalPlane correspondents - Daniel Doucet, Subhajit Dutta and Greg Redpath - Interviews
focalplane.biologists.com
December 19, 2024 at 2:27 PM
I'm so full of ginger cookies from the office Christmas pot luck lunch that it is hard to think. Apologies if anyone receives any nonsensical emails from me this afternoon!
#ThreeBiscuitRule
a purple curtain with the words did someone just say cookies written on it
ALT: a purple curtain with the words did someone just say cookies written on it
media.tenor.com
December 18, 2024 at 1:35 PM
And don't forget to tell all your friends that aren't on social media!
Did you know that you can receive the latest news from FocalPlane direct to your inbox. Here's a peek at the posts in this week's email!
Register: focalplane.biologists.com/wp-login.php...
There's also an option to sign up to our quarterly newsletter. Look out for our 2024 round-up coming out soon.
December 18, 2024 at 10:39 AM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
#FocalPlaneCorrespondent Daniel Doucet interviews Kedar Narayan, the 2025 recipient of the Alan Agar @royalmicrosoc.bsky.social Award for Electron Microscopy. We learn about #volumeEM, big data challenges and the vEM community.
focalplane.biologists.com/2024/12/14/v...
VolumeEM: An Interview with Kedar Narayan - FocalPlane
VolumeEM: An Interview with Kedar Narayan - Interviews
focalplane.biologists.com
December 17, 2024 at 1:28 PM
This is such a fantastic post, both for those getting started in imaging or if you need an update on the amazing developments in fluorescent probe research. Thanks Lina! Also, look out for our short interview with Lina, which will be up on @focalplane.bsky.social soon.
📢Now up on FocalPlane: Probes 101 – How to choose a fluorescent probe for your imaging experiment.
Lina El Hajji talks us through the optimal photophysical properties & weighs up the pros & cons of FPs versus small molecule dyes & the options in between!
focalplane.biologists.com/2024/12/14/p...
Probes 101 – How to choose a fluorescent probe for your imaging experiment - FocalPlane
Probes 101 – How to choose a fluorescent probe for your imaging experiment - Tools
focalplane.biologists.com
December 16, 2024 at 1:21 PM
This week's @focalplane.bsky.social preprint list will focus on new tools and techniques in microscopy, covering sample prep, probes, microscopy hardware and software. I'm just finalising the list now, so let me know if you have any recommendations from the last ~6 weeks!
December 13, 2024 at 10:04 AM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
Following workshops at @harvardmed.bsky.social and
#I2K2024, Ranit Karmakar shares an intro (plus access to course material) into how to use Segment Anything Model (SAM) to segment your microscopy images.
Check it our here: focalplane.biologists.com/2024/12/10/s...
SAM for Bioimage Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide - FocalPlane
SAM for Bioimage Analysis: A Comprehensive Guide - Education
focalplane.biologists.com
December 12, 2024 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
Hey SkyWalkers, we've recently acquired a STED microscope and I was wondering what's your favorite structure to test/demo STED imaging (except for tubulin/actin)?

Bonus points when:
-can be done in HeLa cells
-it's based on a genetically encoded part that is available from @addgene.bsky.social
December 12, 2024 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
Excited for #CellBio2024 (how is it only a few days away? 😱)! Looking forward to seeing old friends/colleagues and meeting new ones (…and hopefully seeing some ☀️). If you’d like to chat more about publishing in @jcellsci.bsky.social, drop me a message or find me at the @biologists.bsky.social stand!
December 10, 2024 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Helen Zenner
Check out this feature on @harikrushnan.bsky.social, one of our previous Advanced Microscopy Fellows (www.aicjanelia.org/fellowship) 👇
Harikrushnan Balasubramanian @harikrushnan.bsky.social is a research specialist on Janelia’s new Integrative Imaging team @i2janelia.bsky.social, collaborating with Janelia labs to develop methods & workflows for using light microscopy in biological research. 🧵(1/11) www.janelia.org/support-team...
December 10, 2024 at 5:31 PM