My STSM experience at the Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University (Sweden), built on an existing collaboration between the Fichtner Lab at Charité and the Rostedt Punga Lab that began during my Master’s thesis.
The main objective of the visit was to gain hands-on training in real-time intracellular Ca²⁺ imaging in differentiated human skeletal muscle myotubes. I learned the complete experimental workflow, from cell preparation and Fluo-8H loading to live-cell imaging using a Leica Stellaris 5 confocal microscope and subsequent image analysis. Calcium responses were induced through AChR stimulation with carbamoylcholine, providing a functional approach to studying the effects of pathogenic autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis.
A key outcome of the STSM was gaining the practical knowledge needed to contribute to the future establishment and standardisation of this assay in my home laboratory at Charité. Beyond the technical training, the visit strengthened an existing international collaboration and provided valuable opportunities for scientific exchange.
Overall, the experience was highly enriching both professionally and personally, and gave me a new experimental perspective that I hope to carry forward into my future research.
