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
64th meeting, 13th of July 2026
Meeting date
13/07/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organisational matters & News
- Discussion about survey for comparison protocol / recommendations
- Report from ELMI 2026, plan WG2 contributions for 2027 meetings
- Updates on camera model & glossary project, and theory paper
- Summary and next steps
63rd meeting, 8th of June 2026
Meeting date
08/06/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organisational matters & News
- Finalising WG2 contribution to ELMI 2026
- Update on theory paper
- Work on comparison protocol / recomendations
- Summary and next steps
Summary
The 63rd meeting of Working Group 2 focused on preparations for ELMI 2026, where both workshops presented by the group have already sold out. The team reviewed presentation materials for two workshops: one on photoconversion factor measurement led by Kees and Britta, and another on automation protocols presented by Kees. They discussed QR code implementation in presentations and agreed to include both direct protocol links and references to the QUAREP-LiMi website for better accessibility. The group also addressed plans for poster presentations and the status of a theory paper, noting no updates were available from the authors. Additionally, they debated the development of comparison protocols and guidelines, with participants suggesting a survey might help determine community needs before creating formal recommendations.62nd meeting, 11th of May 2026
Meeting date
11/05/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organisational matters & News
- Updates on camera model and glossary project
- WG2 elections
- Updates on: WG2 contribution to ELMI 2026, theory paper
- Work on comparison protocol
- Summary and next steps
Summary
The Working Group 2 meeting focused on election results, project updates, and ELMI preparation. Catalin reported the election results for the new WG2 co-chairs (Valeria Berno, Gert-Jan Bakker, Andre Zeug, Britta Schroth-Diez) and WG2 representatives (SC: Britta Schroth-Diez, ERB: David Grunwald, OB: Andre Zeug). The group discussed the final phase of the camera model and glossary project, which is nearly complete after five years of work. They reviewed plans for ELMI workshops, including two accepted workshop applications, and discussed potential poster abstract submissions for the conference. The meeting also addressed the comparison protocol development, with discussions about light source stability and its impact on measurement results, though the group concluded that light source variation likely wouldn’t affect the current protocol’s results.
61st meeting, 13th of April 2026
Meeting date
13/04/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Agenda
- Organisational matters & News
- Preparation for WG2 elections
- Reports from FOM and GerBI-GMB meeting
- Updates on: WG2 contribution to ELMI 2026, theory paper
- 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 reports from our very successful WG2 contributions at FOM 2026 and the GerBI-GMB meeting. Next, we talked about our planned contributions for ELMI2026.
The two workshop abstracts were sent in, abstracts for posters still need to be worked on. The theory paper preparation group met at FOM. The next steps planned are to provide a first draft sketch for the paper and a letter to the editor. Both drafts will be presented in the May meeting.
The reminder of the meeting of worked on our comparison protocol. We discussed how to define acceptable variations of the light source used for determining detector parameters. We further discussed how to measure these parameters and how they would link to light source intensity variation. We will continue this discussion in our next meeting.
Working Group 3
Working Group 4
56th meeting, 21st of July 2026
Meeting summary
WG04 had a presentation from one of its members, Junqing, from the National Physical Laboratory, UK, on “Dimensionally Traceable 3D Microstructures for Multimodal Microscope Calibration,” followed by a group discussion. The group then discussed the upcoming group elections (for SC, ERB, and OBs); the current co-chairs stated they are willing to remain in their positions, though new nominations are welcome. The group will set up a nomination/election poll.
54th meeting, 21st of April 2026
Meeting date
21/04/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
The working group discussed the issue of low attendance at meetings and considered the possibility of increasing visibility through social media channels. This matter will be raised with the Steering Committee (SC) for further guidance.
The group also addressed the development of a new protocol for widefield (WF) and spinning disk (SD) microscopy systems. Attending members agreed to prepare an initial draft covering both modalities. MA will share a link to the first version of the protocol ahead of the next meeting to enable further discussion.
Finally, it was noted that the WG04 abstract submitted for a workshop at ELMI 2026 has been accepted.
53rd meeting, 17th of March 2026
Meeting date
17/03/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
The WG was updated by LacJ about the feedback requests from the other WGs and the general news from Quarep‑LiMi. The WG then discussed the abstract outline to be submitted for a workshop at ELMI 2026.
52nd meeting, 17th of February 2026
Meeting date
17/02/2026 @ 5:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
PS updated the group on the latest news from QUAREP‑LiMi. The group discussed the protocol changes to be implemented. AB presented results obtained on different systems from his facility. Based on these findings, new action items were defined. The next meeting is scheduled for March 23.
Working Group 5
Working Group 6
Working Group 7
Working Group 8
14th meeting, 23rd of April 2025
Meeting date
23/04/2025 @ 4:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Summary (topics discussed): Presented and discussed objectives and survey, provided feedback from GerBI, who saw the survey. Sylvia and Gaby showed the latest changes made to the survey. Asked for more contributions (links were shared again). Angela suggested also we have someone more expert on surveys go through the questions (especially making it quantifiable through better structured Likert scales?).
Once this is sorted the Gaby sends a preview of the survey to all QUAREP for final feedback, on the spirit of opening to all community before going public with results.
We ten plan for a date for releasing if and when there is consensus.
Ask also to vote on whether we can/should ask for email (as optional, never mandatory!).
Working Group 9
Working Group 10
41st meeting, 09th of December 2025
Meeting date
09/12/2025 @ 4:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Discussion about dexel definition work between WG2, WG7 and WG10;
Raw image definition paper V0.8: What‘s new? What remins to be done? Proofreading and assignment of tasks. Target publication date, timeline and help (all)
40th meeting, 14th of October 2025
Meeting date
14/10/2025 @ 4:00 PM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Discussion about Pixel vs Dexel definitions. Validation of the document.
Presentation by John Oreopoulos (Andor) about methods to measure internal scan head background levels, discussions.
Working Group 11
46th meeting, 03rd March 2026
Meeting date
05/03/2026 @ 11:03 AM (CET/CEST)
Meeting summary
Decide on next chair (Chloe’s torch bearer)
Ayse: Discuss her idea of IA she is working on
Define what depends on application means.
QUAREP-endorsed MicCheck?
Review the modalities we already discussed to ensure we are still ok with them.