Global BioImaging Receives $1.3M to Advance Open-access Imaging Tools

Global BioImaging, an international network of bioimaging facilities and communities coordinated by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), has received $1.3 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). The grant will support Global BioImaging’s efforts to provide open access tools for imaging technologies in the life sciences.

The three-year grant will also help the organization expand its worldwide network and increase its training and outreach efforts, and will help its members strengthen scientific imaging in their own countries. Global BioImaging’s community includes members from the United States, Europe, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, India, Japan, and South Africa.

Scanning electron microscopy image of the surface of frozen daisy with pollen, colored in Photoshop. Courtesy of Daniel Gütl, winner of the 2017 Euro-BioImaging “Research. Captured.” competition.

Recognizing that scientific, technical, and data challenges are not restricted by geographical boundaries, Global BioImaging brings together imaging facility managers and technical staff, and scientists and science policy officers from around the globe to join forces and build capacity internationally. It aims to tackle the practical and strategic challenges linked to operating open access, cutting-edge imaging centers.

“By bolstering the development of Global BioImaging's central hub and investing in training and data exchange between imaging centers and communities, we hope to increase global collaboration and accelerate potentially life-saving scientific breakthroughs,” CZI head of science Cori Bargmann said.