Biophotonics and microscopy are highly inter-related fields in terms of both technology development and biomedical applications. The tremendous recent advances in microscopy are paralleled by new opportunities for biophotonics—the investigation and manipulation of biological phenomena using light and its application to the biomedicine. This “Enrico Fermi” School aimed to give the students an overview of these rapidly developing fields and enhance their understanding of the technological developments in optical microscopy that are synergistic with the application of photonics to molecular, cell and tissue biology. The School was highly interdisciplinary, involving physicists, biologists, chemists and clinicians and stimulated discussion from both the technological and biological points of view. We hope that other students in the fields of biophotonics and microscopy will also find this volume useful.

The School was designed as a series of short courses, clustering three or four lectures of related topics, with biomedical applications being discussed after the basic photonics concepts had been addressed. The programme began with a review of the fundamentals of microscopy and its related technologies, presenting approaches based on linear and nonlinear interactions of laser light with biological specimens. Lecturers introduced the concepts of fluorescence, phase contrast and nonlinear microscopies, and laser-based light sources. This was followed by lectures focusing on specific fluorophores and other probes and advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques such as structured illumination, FRAP, FLIM, FRET, anisotropy, FCS and spatial correlation microscopy, as well as non-fluorescence techniques utilising phase contrast, autofluorescence, Raman, and second harmonic signals. The students learned how these concepts could be applied to a broad spectrum of applications including multidimensional fluorescence imaging, in vivo cytometry, tissue imaging and clinical diagnosis.

The organizers gave priority to applications from PhD students although post-doctoral researchers were also welcome, and the School attracted international attendees from many continents. Student poster sessions were very impressive and a number of these papers were selected for oral presentation by the students within the lecture programme. The relaxed atmosphere of the School, which took place at the magnificent location of Villa Monastero in Varenna, provided a stimulating environment for scientific exchange between students and lecturers. The local organizers, Barbara Alzani, together with Ramona Brigatti and Marta Pigazzini, did a wonderful job and special thanks are due to Dr. Daniela Selisca who played a major role in the organisation of the School. We also gratefully recognize the contributions of Roberta Comastri, Monica Bonetti, and Marcella Missiroli. Finally, we thank the Italian Physical Society for making this event possible.

F. S. Pavone, P. T. C. So and P. M. W. French