Imaging and MALDI

The BMSS Imaging & MALDI SIG

The Imaging and MALDI special interest group was formed in 2007 to cater for the explosion of interest in the use of mass spectrometry-based imaging techniques. The group is a forum for all MSI techniques including but not exclusively MALDI. The group is very active and has organised 10 one-day Special Interest Meetings to date, along with dedicated imaging sessions at the annual BMSS meeting. We have been delighted to be able to host leading international figures in MSI including Isabelle Fournier, Markus Stoeckli, Helen Cooper, Liam McDonnel, Andreas Rompp, Josephine Bunch and Pierre Chaurand to give plenary lectures at our annual SIG meetings.  We are planning to host the next SIG meeting in Spring 2024 and look forward to welcoming you there.

The generous contribution of numerous sponsors, including mass spectrometers and sample preparation device manufacturers, has made it possible to welcome all attendees free of charge.

Early Career Inclusion: 

The Imaging and MALDI SIG meetings have also provided a forum for Early Career Scientists (ECSs) to give oral presentations in a friendly and supportive environment since their inception. Each SIG meeting has a number of reserved slots for ECS presentations, and it is an excellent opportunity for ECSs to deliver their “first” external conference presentation.

BMSS Imaging & MALDI SIG Co-Leaders Contact Details:

BMSS Imaging and MALDI SIG Training Event 2025 - Expression of Interest

Following on the success of the first Imaging and MALDI SIG training hosted by Sheffield Hallam University and delivered by Waters in May 2024, we are now seeking expressions of interest to host this training event in your laboratory by the end of 2025.

Whilst we held the training and the BMSS Imaging and MALDI SIG Symposium back-to-back in Sheffield, we are now looking to split the two events. We will still be holding the symposium in Sheffield but are keen for a different laboratory/vendor to host the training event on a different date.

This training event was oversubscribed last year and we sadly had to turn people away, therefore we expect this new training to be oversubscribed again. We can help you with the writing of the final offer and application form, based on what we have delivered in May 2024. So that you can prepare your EOI, we would like to briefly share what we delivered last year:

The imaging training is open to National and International attendees. The first Imaging and MALDI SIG Training was delivered by Waters Corp. supported by research staff and students from the Centre for Mass Spectrometry Imaging (CMSI) sitting within the Sheffield Multimodal Imaging Centre (SMIC). This free-of-charge training was for a maximum of 15 trainees with a solid theoretical and practical knowledge of MSI to make most of the day's teachings. As such, this is an application-based process. High level training was delivered on the SELECT SERIES MALDI MRT, DESI Cyclic Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometer and the DESI Xevo TQS tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer on both small molecules and peptides following enzymatic proteolysis. Prior to the practical sessions, the attendees had been given an overview of the imaging advances in capabilities and instrumentation, (the latter with reference to the instrumentation that they have used in the lab for the practical sessions) through two hours of lectures.

The training concluded with a Q&A and feedback session.

Please send an EOI by email and by 2nd December to Simona Francese (s.francese@shu.ac.uk), Robert Bradshaw (r. Bradshaw@shu.ac.uk) and Chris Titman (sig@bmss.org.uk) detailing your proposal through the following headers:

  1. Hosting academic Lab and Location
  2. The MS Manufacturer/Vendor you are partnering with to deliver the training
  3. The proposed imaging training (hands on/lectures 80/20)
  4. The proposed (and feasible) number of trainees you can accommodate
  5. The proposed dates 

Please note that as the BMSS Imaging and MALDI Symposium will still be held at Sheffield Hallam University in the second week of May, so it would be good to propose a date that away from this period.