AIMS 2015

Synopsis

The 4th Annual ADVANCED IMAGING MASS SPECTROMETRY (AIMS.2015) Laboratory Course was held Monday, April 13 – Thursday, April 16, 2015 at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

The workshop consisted of lectures and hands-on workshops and covered topics included sample preparation, matrix application, practical and advanced instrumentation, and computational aspects.  Two tutorials were also held on the Monday prior to the course, one an Introduction to Histology and Microscopy, and the other an Introduction to Mass Spectrometry.  These were designed to allow attendees less experienced in one of the two disciplines to get a more “equal footing” with the rest of the class.  Members of the MSRC gave the main lectures and led all the associated workshops.  On Wednesday evening, all attendees were invited to the Wildhorse Saloon downtown for dinner and   buses shuttled people back to Vanderbilt or their hotel.  The final day of the course consisted of a symposium series, with six external speakers and two speakers from the MSRC giving 20 minute talks focusing on biological applications of imaging mass spectrometry.  The external speakers were Steve Castellino (GlaxoSmithKline), Per Andren (University of Uppsala), Young-Jin Lee (Iowa State University), Kristina Schwamborn (Technical University of Munich), Liza Cazares (USAMRIID), and Richard Drake (Medical University of South Carolina).  This was combined with two 1.5 hr blocks of time reserved for vendor demonstrations where participants were able to interact closely with the companies that provide instrumentation that supports imaging mass spectrometry.  Roundtable discussions were held during lunchtime, and the day ended with a reception in the Nursing School Lobby.

Itinerary

View the 2015 Final Course Schedule
View the 2015 Final Agenda
View sample Workshop Summaries:

 Sample Preparation: Fresh Frozen Tissue – Cryosectioning
Sample Preparation: Fresh Frozen Tissue – Washing & Histology Staining
Sample Preparation: FFPE Sectioning
Sample Preparation: FFPE – Antigen Retrieval & Washing
Matrix Application: Manual Spray Coating
Matrix Application: Portrait Spotting – Matrix & Trypsin
Matrix Application: Sublimation & Rehydration
Matrix Application: TM Sprayer
Maldi LTQ XL: Small Molecule Imaging
 FTICR – Lipid Imaging
Synapt G2-Si: Lipid Imaging Using Ion Mobility
TOF & TOF/TOF: Lipid, Peptide & Protein Imaging

Attendees

Twenty-five people registered and attended the course. The attendees were from academic (70%) and government (10%) laboratories. An additional twenty-six individuals registered for the last day of the course, which consisted of a symposium series, roundtable discussions, and vendor demonstrations. Thirteen representatives from companies that sponsored the course also attended.