Working Group 1
Quality Assessment and Reproducibility for Instruments & Images in Light Microscopy
The Consortium for Quality Assessment and Reproducibility for Instruments and Images in Light Microscopy (QUAREP-LiMi), formed by the global community of practitioners, researchers, developers, service providers, funders, publishers, policy makers and industry related to the use of light microscopy, is committed to democratizing access to quantitative and reproducible light microscopy and the data generated by it.
Our mission is to provide a comprehensive set of community-agreed guidelines, protocols, automation procedures and other resources aimed at improving quality control, quality assurance, and instrument/method calibration. The stakeholders advocate for the use of the highest level of reproducibility for data generated by light microscopy methods in scientific research and biotechnology applications. In support of achieving its mission, QUAREP-LiMi:
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sanctions Working Groups to form teams that focus on specific technical or outreach topics;
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maintains, disseminates, and teaches best practices, protocols, and software tools; and
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collaborates with providers of reference materials or instrumentation or other tools that enable the easy implementation of best practices at the community level.
We came together in our first online Web meeting on the 28th of April, 2020, with about 50 attendees. By now (24st of April 2024), the network has grown to 620 people from 41 countries worldwide. We have members from academia (research labs, core facilities), national microscopy communities, companies involved in the microscopy business, organizations or institutions related to standardization on a national or international level, and scientific publishers and observers from funding agencies (see the graph below and on the member page for an overview).
Ten working groups (WGs) were established in the 2nd General Meeting on the 9th of July 2020 to bring our common aims quickly forward. Our web page gives an overview of QUAREP-LiMi’s work. In the 3rd General Meeting, WG 11 “Microscopy Publication Standards” and later WGs 12 “Image Visualization and Analysis” and 13 “Phototoxicity” were established. WG 14 “Environment” and 15 “FLIM” are in the process of being established, and WG 8 is restructured to work on “Education, Training and Outreach”.
QUAREP-LiMi operates a NextCloud and an OMERO server, serving as a centralized repository and exchange point for our collective work. These platforms facilitate collaboration and data sharing among our members.
QUAREP-LiMi is absolutely open to new members, and we are looking forward to your contribution. If you are interested in joining our initiative, please fill out our membership form. Use our form for changing your working group (WG) or joining a new WG. For any further questions, please contact us.
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Working Group 2
60th meeting, 9th of March 2026
Meeting date
09/03/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organizational matters and News
- Preparation for WG2 elections
- WG2 contribution to ELMI 2026
- Updates on: theory paper, FOM 2026 poster
- Work on comparison protocol
- Summary and next steps
Summary
After agreeing on the next meeting dates and reporting from the last SC meeting, we discussed the upcoming elections for our WG2 co-chairs and representatives. This was followed by a finishing the abstracts for our planned two workshop contributions for ELMI2026. The theory paper preparation group planned to meet at FOM, where some WG2 members will present our work on a poster.
The reminder of the meeting of worked on our comparison protocol. We discussed several aspects and came to the conclusion that we need to start by defining the acceptable variations of the light source used for determining detector parameters. This we will discuss in the next meeting. In addition, we need to measure several detectors to get an overview of performance variability. We will discuss a workflow and timeline in the upcoming meeting.
59th meeting, 9th of February 2026
Meeting date
09/02/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organizational matters and News
- WG2 contribution to ELMI 2026
- Updates on: theory paper, FOM 2026 poster abstract, LiMi-model – camera model & glossary, dexel – pixel project
- Work on comparison protocol
- Summary and next steps
Summary
The meeting began with discussions about poster presentations, workshops, co-chairs, and meeting attendance statistics, followed by confirmation of upcoming meeting dates and agenda items. The team reviewed updates on various initiatives including ELMI 2026, Working Group 11’s publication, and the LiMi-model webpage, while also discussing workshop proposals and potential contributions to the ELMI 2026 conference. The group focused on developing comparison protocols for microscope and detection systems, deciding to prioritize consistent measurement protocols over complex system comparisons, with plans to invite Working Group 1 members for further discussion.58th meeting, 12th of January 2026
Meeting date
12/01/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organizational matters and News
- Update on theory paper
- Poster abstract for FOM 2026
- Update on LiMi-model – camera model & glossary
- Update on dexel – pixel approval process
- Topics for 2026 – priorities and timelines
Summary
We started the meeting with agreeing on our next meeting dates and what to report to the SC meeting the next day. This was followed by an update on the theory paper project and endorsement for a poster abstract for FOM 2026. Next we shared the great news that the 5-year-long camera model and glossary project finished the revision by the stakeholder group. The next step is to go to the SC with a proposal for change (PFC) for approval to go to phase 4 (community approval). The dexel-pixel project interest group consisting of members of WGs 2, 7, and 10, finished the approval rounds through the respective working groups. Next, the texts will be presented to the SC for approval and subsequent dissemination. We finished the meeting with discussing the various topics we as WG2 want to work on in 2026. The order of the topics was also discussed and agreed. We will start in our February meeting with working on a protocol to compare measurements between two detection and / or microscope systems.57th meeting, 08th of December 2025
Meeting date
08/12/2025 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organizational matters and News
- Update on theory paper
- Update on LiMi-model – / NBO-Q camera model & glossary
- Report from dexel – pixel stakeholder group meetings
- Recap of 2025 and outlook to 2026
Summary
The meeting started with a brief summary of the last Steering Committee meeting, which included decision on the name “LiMi-model” to replace “NBO-Q”, planning for the annual meeting, announcement of three open positions for QUAREP-LiMi funded through a DFG grant, and report from work by WG11 which will be published soon. We continued the meeting with discussing the next steps for our theory paper and the possibility to represent our work with a poster during FOM 2026. After a short about the current status of our camera model and glossary work, we went through the documents prepared by the dexel-pixel stakeholder group. WG2 approved the definitions with potential change to the pixel definition by WG10. In addition, the social media text and long texts were approved too and sent to WG10 for their approval. We will review the result in our January meeting, before the whole document is sent to the SC for approval. Since this was the last meeting in 2025, we finished with a short recap of our achievements in 2025 and outlook to our plans for 2026.56th meeting, 10th of November 2025
Meeting date
10/11/2025 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organizational matters and News
- Update on theory paper
- Short update on NBO-Q camera model & glossary
- Discussion about dexel vs pixel text
Summary
After an initial discussion and open question about the correct procedure for writing the paper—particularly regarding contributions and data sharing—the conversation moved to the paper draft. The subgroup presented the main document they are working on and addressed key points such as the choice of journal and the paper format, which will likely be a scientific report or review. It was agreed that formal guidelines and a brainstorming session will be needed to define protocol updates and determine how much new data can be included. At the beginning of next year, a smaller subgroup should be formed with clearer ideas on these issues, and efforts should be made to invite additional contributors, especially from company representatives.
A brief summary of the last Steering Committee meeting followed: new funding opportunities were confirmed, and the success of the DFG application was noted. The need to create an OMERO subgroup was highlighted, and Britta reported on her presentation during a Springer/Nature webinar on WG2 protocols. The group also discussed concerns about FAIR data sharing costs but concluded that the topic extends beyond WG2; the Steering Committee will be informed. Additional updates were provided on the NBO-Q camera model and glossary, as well as on the ongoing discussion regarding dexel versus pixel terminology together with WG10.
55th meeting, 13th of October 2025
Meeting date
13/10/2025 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organizational matters and News
- New name for NBO-Q model
- Update on NBO-Q camera model & glossary
- Discussion about dexel vs pixel text
- Update on theory paper
At the beginning of our meeting, we shared information from the SC meeting: a big NSF grant was approved and process for finding a better suited name for our model was agreed.
Next, we discussed the proposed names for the model to replace NBO-Q and agreed that WG2 endorses the suggestions by WG7: LiMi Model. Our camera part of the model is still in the process of being finished, one more meeting round needs to be organised. Specifically, the definitions and describing texts for pixels (as picture elements) and dexels (as detector elements) need to be finalised. We discussed the suggested definitions and text drafts. In the last part of the meeting, the paper subgroup reported about their progress. The content of the work in progress will be shared on the QUAREP-LiMi cloud, in a folder privat to the paper subgroup.
Working Group 3
Working Group 4
37th meeting, 21st of May 2024
Meeting date
21/05/2024 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
WG4 acknowledges the acceptance of the QUAREP by-laws. Judith Lacoste serves as the WG4 Steering Committee (SC) representative, Ileana Micu as the Editorial Review Board (ERB) representative, and Christian Kukat as the Ombuds Board (OB) representative. Also, Maria Azevedo is now co-chair with Aurélien Dauphin. An overarching publication involving WG03, WG04, WG05, and a microscope manufacturer was discussed, and suggestions for WG04 representatives to participate were put forward. An update on the naming convention was provided, and the group discussed what should be included for WG04 datasets. Importantly, WG04 will not meet in June; however, an email containing updates on the naming convention and instructions to test OMERO will be sent. The next WG04 meeting is scheduled for July 16th.
36th meeting, 24th of April 2024
Meeting date
24/04/2024 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
A microscope manufacturer is using the QUAREP protocols to provide time-0 measurments before shipping units to its customers. The manufacturer‘s team presented on what seems to be a code implementation issue for the calculation of the reference surface used to calculate the co-registration performance with the tool MetroloJ QC. With the supporting references, they show that the way code is currently written, the 3D reference surface is rendered as a peanut shape instead of an ovoid elongated sphere. As a result of this, the XY and Z co-registration accuracy is not correctly assessed. The authors of MetroloJ_QC will be contacted to present them these findings and ask for feedbacks.
35th meeting, 19th of March 2024
Meeting date
19/03/2024 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
WG04 pursues the analyses of 1um beads datasets for color co-registration, comparing different software. There was a discussion regarding measurements of signal to background ratio on aging bead preparations. The group discussed about how detectors settings and metadata can have an impact on the co-registration analysis results. Please note the next WG04 monthly meeting date. It was moved because of QUAREP annual meeting. Lastly, many thanks to the members who agreed to become co-chairs and representatives of WG-04: Maria Azevedo, Aurélien Dauphin, Christian Kukat, Judith Lacoste and Ileana Micu.
34th meeting, 20th of February 2024
Meeting date
20/02/2024 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Today the proposed QUAREP by-laws were presented. WG04 is grateful to those who worked with David Grunwald for the preparation of this impressive document. The by-laws will be submitted for approval during the QUAREP annual meeting next April. In the mean time, WG04 is asking its members to come forward for the following positions in our workgroup: WG04 co-chairs, a WG04 steering committee representative, a WG04 editorial review board representative and a WG04 ombuds board representative. In addition, QUAREP will need to elect 13 persons on the steering committee and 3 persons on the ombuds board. Our organisation just reached 600 members, for sure there will be new people joining on the above committees to make QUAREP better. Please let us know of your interest in the above positions. A big thanks in advance!
Working Group 5
Working Group 6
Working Group 7
29th meeting, 17th of June 2024
Meeting date
17/06/2024 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Julio presented an extension to OMERO for tracking metrology data. During the discussion next steps were discussed which included attending WGs 3, 4, and 5 and presenting the work in order to align the metadata schema. There were also extended discussions about recent events, e.g., at OME2024 and ELMI2024.
Working Group 8
Working Group 9
Working Group 10
34th meeting, 10th of December 2024
Meeting date
10/12/2024 @ 4:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Presentation by Siân Culley (King’s College London): be there!
30th meeting, 12th of March 2024
Meeting date
12/03/2024 @ 4:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
This meeting will be dedicated to a quick review of the RID parameter, a global discussion about the new parameter AS told us about and importantly, the ByLaws document with the need of volunteer candidates for the various positions (SC, EBR, OB).
Working Group 11
40th meeting, 22nd of May 2025
Meeting date
22/05/2025 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
1-During the last meeting, you expressed your wish to publish the bare minimal list as a standalone document instead of the comprehensive manuscript we were initially envisioning. The main concerns we have are figuring out the type of journal that accepts this format/content and the fact that there are at least 3 publications providing guidelines/checklists for methods reporting.
2-The second action item was to organize the live document that we created a long time ago in which we determined what was level 1 (required), 2 (depends on the application), 3 (nice to have) to build a logic tree for biologists to generate the appropriate checklist depending on the experiment they did.