mmc2023: RMS Celebrates Successful Return to Manchester

The dust has finally settled on mmc2023 (incorporating EMAG 2023), which saw more than 1,000 attendees descend on Manchester Central as the Congress series returned to the iconic UK venue for the first time in four years.

The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) would like to thank everyone who attended its flagship event – the exhibitors, delegates, volunteers and everyone else who helped make the Congress such a special occasion for the microscopy, imaging and flow cytometry communities.

Over three days, this international event combined a heady mix of vibrant conference sessions (36 in total – including EMAG 2023 sessions) covering all the latest techniques and applications in microscopy – plus with a world-class exhibition showcasing the very latest products and technology from some of the leading companies in the field.

The event incorporated pre-Congress meetings and workshops – including an Early Career Symposium and the BioImaging UK meeting – as well as free-to-attend company workshops throughout the exhibition. This year’s mmc also featured an expanded Learning Zone, offering expert advice for visitors, as well as a programme of well-attended talks in a dedicated lecture theatre.

The RMS held its 2023 Annual General Meeting (as well as AGMs for each of the Society’s Scientific Committees) during the Congress, which featured a number of award presentations for previously announced winners – plus some new recipients.

Among these was an RMS President’s Award for Jeremy Sanderson, who has contributed to the work of the Society for 35 years – notably as a prominent teacher on the long-running RMS Light Microscopy courses. He is also well known as an author on microscopy; his latest book, a comprehensive guide titled Understanding Light Microscopy, was published in 2019 as part of the RMS / Wiley Book series.

In other news, the Society welcomed Dr Peter O’Toole (Head of Imaging and Cytometry, University of York) as its in-coming President. Fittingly, Peter’s first action as President was to announce a surprise RMS Honorary Fellowship for his predecessor, Professor Grace Burke, who served in the role from 2019 – leading the Society throughout the Covid pandemic and driving forward a number of new RMS initiatives. Another surprise announcement was made in honour of retiring RMS Chief Executive Allison Winton, who has served the Society continuously since 1984. It was revealed that a new award – The Winton Prize – has been established to recognise outstanding sustained contributions to community engagement and collaboration in microscopy and RMS-related activities. The announcement prompted an extended standing ovation for Allison.

Elsewhere during the conference, The Society was delighted to present a further Honorary Fellowship to Dr Rafal Durnin-Borkowski, for his major contributions to a wide range of electron microscopy techniques and applications.

We would like to congratulate all our award-winners – including our Poster prize-winners – and once again, thank you to everyone who attended this hugely important event for the microscopy, imaging and flow cytometry communities

We’ll see you again at mmc2025!

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