BNMI2026 SYMPOSIUM

23-27 November, 2026, Levi, Finland

Welcome to the BNMI 2026 Symposium – the 5th annual meeting of the Bridging Nordic Microscopy Infrastructure (BNMI) network. The BNMI 2026 Symposium will be hosted by the Finnish Advanced Microscopy Node and takes place at the Levi Summit Event Center & Panorama Hotel, Levi, Finland, 23/24-27 November, 2026.

The goal of the BNMI network symposium is to bring the Nordic imaging infrastructures and life scientists closer together to strengthen our collaboration. With these meetings we aim to encourage interactions among the different Nordic imaging facilities and create interactive networks in life science imaging. By active networking between imaging facilities, researchers, developers and industry we seek to improve the quality and impact of microscopy in the Nordic countries.

KEY DATES

Pre-symposium workshops dates: 23-24.11.2026

Symposium dates: 24-27.11.2026

Abstract submission CLOSED (21.08.2026)

Early bird registration CLOSED (7.08.2026)

Registration CLOSED (21.08.2026)

BNMI fellowship application CLOSED (26.06.2026)

Programme Highlights

We will offer an exciting scientific program, which will consist of industry exhibitions, workshops, scientific talks, poster sessions, and panel discussions. Topics that will be covered include:

Advanced Light Microscopy & Super-Resolution Microscopy
Mesoscopy
Label-free imaging
High content screening and image analysis
Electron Microscopy
Imaging Applications

Invited speakers

VENUE

Hotel Levi Panorama sits on one of the Levi fell tops, just a 15-minute drive from Kittilä International Airport. Along with its unique location on the slopes, this venue offers a variety of services and activities, including skiing and hiking directly from the grounds. Levi Summit Congress and Exhibition Centre has multipurpose facilities and high-tech equipment, making it a first-class venue. Together, Levi Summit Congress and Exhibition Centre and Hotel Levi Panorama provide the perfect setting for the 5th BNMI symposium.

We hope you will join us in Levi for what promises to be an exciting and educational symposium!

BNMI fellowship to cover symposium fees

PhD students, Postdocs and Imaging Facility staff are eligible to apply for a fellowship to cover the symposium package fee. Fellowships are available for applicants from Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland). To apply, applicants send an abstract for a presentation (poster or oral), and a motivation letter by 26 June, 2026. Applications should be sent to the following address: bnmi-2026@ibv.uio.no

Organizers

This meeting is organized in collaboration with the Finnish Advanced Microscopy Node, University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, and the Bridging Nordic Microscopy Infrastructure. Please email bnmi-2026@ibv.uio.no if you have any questions.

REGISTRATION

BNMI2026 symposium is an all-inclusive meeting, and different symposium packages include: registration fee (access to all symposium), accommodation in Levi Panorama Hotel (single or double rooms), all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, special symposium dinner), coffee breaks. Participants are expected to book and pay their own travel expenses.

All participants must register for the symposium. Please note that the number of available places for BNMI2026 is limited, and registration will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

IMPORTANT DATES

Pre-symposium workshops dates: 23-24.11.2026

Symposium dates: 24-27.11.2026

Abstract submission: CLOSED (21.08.2026)

Exhibition registration: CLOSED (30.06.2026)

Early bird registration: CLOSED (7.08.2026)

Registration: CLOSED (20.08.2026)

Note! Registration may close before the deadline if the symposium reaches full capacity

Symposium packages

EARLY BIRD

Academic & Non-Academic

Package 1: 4 nights in single room (Mon-Fri) 1050€

Package 2: 4 nights in double room (Mon-Fri) 850€

Package 3: 3 nights in single room (Tue-Fri) 850€

Package 4: 3 nights in double room (Tue-Fri) 650€

Student*

Package 5: 4 nights in a double room (Mon-Fri) 650€

Package 6: 3 nights in a double room (Tue-Fri) 500€

REGULAR

Academic & Non-Academic

Package 1: 4 nights in single room (Mon-Fri) 1150€

Package 2: 4 nights in double room (Mon-Fri) 950€

Package 3: 3 nights in single room (Tue-Fri) 950€

Package 4: 3 nights in double room (Tue-Fri) 750€

Student*

Package 5: 4 nights in a double room (Mon-Fri) 750€

Package 6: 3 nights in a double room (Tue-Fri) 550€

* Students must prove their student status upon registration

Abstract submission

BNMI2026 symposium invites participants to submit abstracts presented as poster or oral presentations. The program will be filled with selected talks from submitted abstracts, so we encourage all participants to submit your topic as early as possible. While all attendees are encouraged to submit a scientific abstract, this is mandatory for PhD students.

The abstract submission is opened until August 21 for poster presentations (for oral presentations submission is CLOSED).

Abstracts from industry partners are welcome for poster presentations.

BNMI fellowship to cover symposium fees

Certificates

If needed, certificates of attendance or certificates from poster/talk presentation will be provided upon request.

PRELIMENARY PROGRAM

The BNMI2026 symposium will start with pre-symposium workshops, which will run in parallel on Monday and Tuesday, November 23-24. The symposium will start on Tuesday at noon, November 24, and end on Friday at noon, November 27. We will offer an exciting scientific program, which will consist of industry exhibitions, workshops, scientific talks, poster sessions, and panel discussions. More information about the pre-symposium workshops will be available soon.

Topics that will be covered during the symposium:

Advanced Light Microscopy & Super-Resolution Microscopy
Mesoscopy
Label-free imaging
High content screening and image analysis
Electron Microscopy
Imaging Applications

Day 1 - Pre-symposium workshops - Monday, 23 November 2026

13:00 – 17:00 Arrival

12:00 – 15:00 Lunch

17:00 – 19:00 Pre-symposium Workshops

19:00 – 21:00 Dinner

Day 2 - Tuesday, 24 November 2026

09:00 – 11:00 Pre-symposium Workshops

11:30 – 13:00 Lunch

11:00 – 13:00 Registration

13:00 – 13:30 Welcome and introduction

13:30 – 14:15 Company talks

Jesper Kielsgaard – CARL ZEISS
Mikko Nokkonen – OY G. W. BERG & CO AB
Christian Garm – MILTENYI BIOTEC
Sophie Ngo – ABBELIGHT
Felix Weltzien – BRUKER LUXENDO

14:15 – 15:00 Coffee and company exhibition

15:00 – 15:45 Company talks

Oliver Garner – BERGMAN LABORA AB
Markku Saari – TRIOLAB OY
Harpreet Khinda -THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC
Ilya Stepanenko – HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS
Christopher Carroll – SARTORIUS

15:45 – 16:30 Panel Discussion

Who Builds the Future of Microscopy?
Shaping the Partnership Between Industry and Nordic Imaging Facilities

16:30 – 17:30 TBA, EMBO Keynote lecture, Harald Stenmark, Oslo University Hospital

18:00 – 20:00 Dinner

Day 3 - Wednesday, 25 November 2026

09:00 – 10:30 Session 1 – Mesoscopy & 3D Imaging

09:00 Fibrillar collagen as an imaging biomarker for uterine health and pregnancy progression, Renata Prunskaite-Hyyryläinen, University of Oulu, Finland
09:35 Automated atlas-based quantification of brain shuttles delivery using lightsheet microscopy, Judit Prat Duran, Aarhus University, Denmark
09:55 Microscopy-driven characterization of rainbow trout hepatic 3D spheroids with multimodal analytical validation, Prem Chand, University of Oslo, Norway
10:00 Whole-brain clearing and multi-channel light-sheet imaging for sex differences in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder, Moritz Negwer, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Netherlands

10:30 – 11:15 Coffee and company exhibition

11:15 – 12:45 Session 2 – Advances in Microscopy

11:15 Smart microscopy for adaptive imaging, Suliana Manley, EPFL, Switzerland
11:55 Micro-stepping extended focus reduces photobleaching and preserves structured illumination super-resolution features, Xian Hu, University of Oslo, Norway
12:15 Light as a probe for living systems, Antonio Fiore, Advanced Imaging Core – Turku, Finland
12:30 Tracking sodium-potassium ATPases (NKA) using MINFLUX, Devinda Wijewardena, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

12:45 – 14:15 Lunch

14:15 – 17:00 Free time & activities

17:00 – 19:00 Company exhibition & Poster session

19:00 – 21:00 Dinner

Day 4 - Thursday, 26 November 2026

08:30 – 10:00 Session 3 – Imaging Applications

08:30 Pharmaceuticals under the nonlinear optical microscope, Clare Strachan, University of Helsinki, Finland
09:05 Rapid ER remodeling by peptide-lipid complexes – peripheral ER collapse and vesiculation, nuclear ER expansion and nuclear shape change, Arunima Chaudhuri, Lund University, Sweden
09:25 Cluster assembly dynamics drive fidelity of planar cell polarity polarization, Silas Boye Nissen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
09:45 Mitochondrial positioning by CDK1-MAP4 regulates focal adhesions, redox signaling and cell migration, Omkar Joshi, University of Turku, Finland

10:00 – 10:45 Coffee and company exhibition

10:45 – 12:00 Session 4 – Label-Free Imaging

10:45 TBA, Oxana Klementieva, Lund University, Sweden
11:20 Digital holographic microscopy of biomolecular condensates in an electric field, Jennifer Tersteegen, Aalto University, Finland
11:40 Coherent X-rays for imaging of wood — identifying challenges for hierarchical biological samples, Taissia Cheremnykh, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

12:00 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 15:00 Session 5 – High-Content Imaging & Image Analysis

13:30 Life beyond the pixels: single-cell analysis using deep learning and image analysis methods, Peter Horvath, AI4Health Institute, Germany
14:35 Multiplexed high-content imaging for drug screening in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts, Phatthamon Laphanuwat, University of Zurich, Switzerland
14:55 Polar ordering during transition from dormant to migrating epithelia, Anna Lång, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
15:15 Virtual multistaining of histological whole slide images based on generative AI and a panel of special stains, Sonja Koivukoski, University of Eastern Finland, Finland

15:00 – 15:30 Coffee and company exhibition

15:30 – 19:30 Social Program

20:00 – 24:00 Symposium dinner & party

Day 5 - Friday, 27 November 2026

09:00 – 10:30 Session 6 – Electron Microcopy

09:00 Cryo-Electron Tomography of the Baltic Sea microbiome, Linda Sandblad, Umeå University, Sweden
09:35 From cells to molecules: multimodal bioimaging reveals the structural plasticity of the Staphylococcus aureus virulence peptide PSMα1, Sambhasan Banegjee, Centre for Structural Biology, DESY, Germany
09:50 Membrane contacts between caveolae and the endoplasmic reticulum involved in fatty acid metabolism, Sebastian Rönfeldt, Biochemical Imaging Centre Umeå, Sweden
10:10 Mechanosensitive membrane microdomains imaged through a lens of fluorescence and cryogenic electron microscopes, Markku Hakala, University of Helsinki, Finland

10:30 – 10:45 Closing remarks

10:45 – 12:00 Grab and go lunch and departure

INVITED SPEAKERS

VENUE

The BNMI2026 symposium is hosted by the Finnish Advanced Microscopy Node and takes place at the Levi Summit Event Center and Panorama Hotel, Tunturitie 205, 99130 Levi, Finland.

Hotel Levi Panorama sits on one of the Levi fell tops, just a 15-minute drive from Kittilä International Airport. For BNMI2026 participants, Hotel Levi Panorama offers accommodation, restaurant services, and a range of facilities such as scenic saunas on the seventh floor, a fitness room, and ski equipment storage.

Hotel Levi Panorama is connected to the Levi Summit Event Center, which has multipurpose facilities and high-tech equipment, making it a first-class venue for the BNMI2026 symposium. The venue offers 220 seat auditorium, meeting rooms, and a big lobby for networking and coffee breaks.

Levi’s downhill and cross-country skiing season typically opens in the first week of October. Along with its unique location on the slopes, Hotel Levi Panorama is the only ski-in ski-out hotel in Levi. Hotel Levi Panorama also serves as a ticket sales point, and symposium participants can conveniently purchase ski passes for the Levi slopes at the reception. Levi Village is easily accessible from the hotel via the Levi Express gondola (scenic cabin lift), or participants can take Panorama Stairs, which also bring you to Levi Village.

Together, Levi Summit Event Center and Hotel Levi Panorama provide the perfect setting for the 5^th BNMI symposium.

ADDRESS

Levi Summit Event Center and Levi Panorama Hotel, Tunturitie 205, 99130 Levi, Finland

Hotel Levi Panorama Homepage

Levi Summit Event Center Homepage

Practical information

Venue: The BNMI2026 will be held at the Levi Summit Event Center & Panorama Hotel, Levi, Finland, 23/24-27 November, 2026.

Address: Levi Summit Event Center and Levi Panorama Hotel, Tunturitie 205, 99130 Levi, Finland

Webpage: https://www.kassiopeia.fi/hotel-levi-panorama/en/

Tips to reach Levi: https://www.levi.fi/en/info/general/arrival-at-levi/

TRANSPORTATION

By plane – Kittilä

Kittilä Airport is international airport located in the heart of Lapland, about 14 kilometers from the Hotel Levi Panorama. The airport has scheduled flights from major European cities and multiple daily connections from Helsinki. Check flights to Levi from Europe: https://www.levi.fi/en/info/general/arrival-at-levi/

Kittilä Airport transfer:

Tunturilinjat Oy operates a shuttle service from Kittilä Airport to Levi, with a stop at Hotel Levi Panorama upon request.

For schedules, prices, and more details, visit: https://tunturilinjat.fi/en/schedules/

Return transfer to the Kittilä Airport

The return trip to Kittilä Airport must be booked at the hotel reception at least 24 hours in advance. The bus does not stop at the hotel automatically; reception will inform the driver about passengers to be picked up from the hotel. On Friday, November 27, the shuttle bus will be organized for the symposium participants.

Kittilä and Levi Taxi +358 200 99800

By plane – Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi Airport is international airport located about 170 kilometers from the BNMI2026 symposium venue. The airport is serviced by flights from most major European cities and daily connections from Helsinki.

By train – Rovaniemi

You can reach Rovaniemi by train from several Finnish cities, with direct daily connections operated by VR, https://www.vr.fi/en. Cities with train connections to Rovaniemi: Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, Turku. Some trains are a car-carrier trains, so you can reach Rovaniemi by train and drive the rest of the trip to Levi in your car.

Transportation from Rovaniemi to Levi

The distance from Rovaniemi to Levi is approximately 170 km, with a driving time of around 2-2.5 hours. Take the E75 north from Rovaniemi, then turn onto road 79 towards Levi. Several daily bus connections operate between Rovaniemi and Levi, especially during the winter season. For schedules, prices, and ticket bookings, visit: https://www.matkahuolto.fi/

Rovaniemi Taxi +358 200 88000

ACCOMODATION

The BNMI2026 symposium participants will be accommodated at the Hotel Levi Panorama. The hotel rooms will be available on the day of arrival from 15.00 onwards. On the day of departure, the rooms will be available until 11.00.

Levi Panorama Hotel offers pre- and post-nights for the BNMI2026 symposium participants. Extra night reservations can be made through hotel reception panorama@kassiopeia.fi (in the email mention the BNMI2026 symposium participation). Extra nights cancellations only in writing to the hotel’s email: panorama@kassiopeia.fi

LOCATION

Levi’s downhill and cross-country skiing season typically opens in the first week of October. Along with its unique location on the slopes, Hotel Levi Panorama is the only ski-in ski-out hotel in Levi. Hotel Levi Panorama also serves as a ticket sales point, and symposium participants can conveniently purchase ski passes for the Levi slopes at the reception. More information about Levi Ski resort: https://www.levi.fi/en/info/levi-ski-resort/

Levi Village is easily accessible from the hotel via the Levi Express gondola (scenic cabin lift), or participants can take Panorama Stairs, which also bring you to Levi Village.

Find more Levi’s travel tips: https://www.kassiopeia.fi/en/travel-levi/

Pre-symposium workshops

The BNMI2026 symposium includes educational workshops during the first days of the event (23-24 November 2026). The workshops will be hosted by imaging facilities and companies. More information about workshops will be available soon.

PARTNERS

We are deeply grateful to NordForsk, the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, Åbo Akademi University Foundation and EMBO for their generous support of the 5th Bridging Nordic Microscopy Infrastructure (BNMI 2026) Symposium, taking place in Levi, Finland.

SPONSORSHIP

We invite companies to join the BNMI2026 symposium, which provides an excellent opportunity to showcase your innovations in imaging and image analysis to professionals in the field. We offer a range of sponsorship packages designed to ensure strong visibility and direct engagement with participants, including pre-symposium workshops, company talks and exhibitions. Availability is limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

You can find in this document a wide range of sponsorship opportunities, together with some practical information about the symposium and venue.

Exhibition registration deadline 30.06.2026

MEET OUR SPONSORS

ORGANISERS

Bridging Nordic Microscopy Infrastructure (BNMI) aims to enhance international competitiveness and support the development of world-leading advanced microscopy environments across the Nordic region.

Scientific Committee of the BNMI Board

Norway
- Oddmund Bakke, University of Oslo
- Bjørnar Sporsheim, Norwegian Institute of Science & Technology, Trondheim
- Xian Hu, University of Oslo
Sweden
- Julia Fernandez-Rodriguez, University of Gothenburg
- Hans Blom, Science for Life Laboratory (KTH), Stockholm
Finland
- Irina Belaia, Åbo Akademi University, Turku
- Veli-Pekka Ronkainen, University of Oulu
- Antti Hassinen, University of Helsinki
Denmark
- Clara Prats Gavalda, University of Copenhagen
- Morten Schallburg Nielsen, University of Aarhus
- Jonathan R. Brewer, University of Southern Odense
Iceland
- Eirikur Steingrimsson, University of Iceland, Rekjavik
- Sigurdur Gudmundsson, University of Iceland, Rekjavik

Local Organizing Committee

Finnish Advanced Microscopy Node

Hanna Grobe
Pasi Kankaanpää
Camilo Guzmán
Veli-Pekka Ronkainen
Antti Hassinen
Junel Solis
Irina Belaia (chair of the BNMI2026 symposium)

Please email bnmi-2026@ibv.uio.no if you have any questions.