Reaching new scientific user communities
EVOLVE call for conference participation targeting new user groups for Euro-BioImaging Nodes and their services
Background
The EVOLVE project is a Horizon Europe project, co-funded by the European Union, in order to support the development of Euro-BioImaging and raise its visibility with stakeholders. One key aspect of this is deepening and widening the Euro-BioImaging user base and increasing our visibility across different scientific communities. Imaging technologies have a very wide applicability in research in the life sciences and beyond, meaning that Euro-BioImaging’s potential user base is equally wide.
This work is made possible by funding from the European Union as part of the EVOLVE project.
While certain scientific domains are already strongly represented in the Euro-BioImaging user base, other communities (both in life science and beyond) are as of yet underrepresented but could strongly benefit from access to the imaging tools and expertise provided by Euro-BioImaging.
There can be two reasons for why certain scientific communities are not yet Euro-BioImaging users or are underrepresented among them. In some communities, imaging may not be a traditionally used methodology and researchers may not be aware of both the latest developments in imaging technologies and how they can support their particular research. This is particularly relevant as new imaging technologies are constantly being developed and becoming accessible at the Euro-BioImaging Nodes.
On the other hand, certain scientific communities may be well aware of the importance of imaging in their research and use it frequently, but they may not be aware of Euro-BioImaging as an open access provider for advanced imaging technologies. For more details and context on this analysis, refer to the summary of EVOLVE deliverable D5.1.
To address these different communities and make them aware of the importance of imaging and the opportunities provided by Euro-BioImaging, we are undertaking a range of initiatives, supported by the EVOLVE project. One of these initiatives is the launch of a Call for Outreach to new user communities.
We believe that the Euro-BioImaging Nodes are our best ambassadors and want to empower them in this activity, by supporting expert Node staff in attending and presenting at conferences of such communities with which they have established connections. This will be very efficient in raising the awareness of the importance of imaging and Euro-BioImaging also in those scientific sectors that do not extensively use our services.
Call conditions
Activities supported: This call will support participation to conferences that have strong representation from or are specifically targeted at new and underserved communities among the Euro-BioImaging user base. We have identified a list of key new communities - see Table 1 below.
| New and under-represented communities |
|---|
| Immunology and infectious diseases |
| Food science |
| Archaeology and heritage science |
| Tissue engineering |
| Cardiovascular diseases |
| Synthetic Biology |
| Anatomopathology |
| Environmental biology |
| Plant science |
| Material Science |
| Chemistry |
| Physics |
| Geology |
| Paleontology |
| Marine biology |
| Biotechnology |
| Other… - see specific conditions below |
Table 1: New and underrepresented communities targeted by this call.
This call does not provide any support for attending conferences that have strong representation from communities that are already well represented among Euro-BioImaging users’. For instance, conferences/events organised by or representing the communities reported in Table 2 cannot be supported.
| Traditional communities |
|---|
| Cancer research |
| Imaging technology communities/associations (like ESMI or ELMI) |
| Neuroscience |
| Cellular biology |
| Physiology |
Table 2: Well represented user communities of Euro-BioImaging services (therefore conferences on these topics are not eligible in this call!).
As a Node staff member, if you have expertise in imaging in one of these areas and are planning to attend a conference specific for any of the communities listed in Table 1, you are eligible to apply for this call. The listed user groups present the main focus areas at the moment, however, if an applicant has a particular different user community in mind that qualifies as a new or under-represented user community and that they have connections to, they are encouraged to submit an application or to reach out to us at info@eurobioimaging.eu to discuss whether this community would be of interest.
Applicants must be working at a Euro-BioImaging Node and must apply for an oral talk at the conference. Acceptance of the talk or at minimum abstract submission are required before application. Euro-BioImaging must be mentioned in the submitted abstract. If the abstract is not approved yet, applicants are strongly encouraged to apply anyway and may be conditionally accepted until the responses of the conference evaluation committee is received.
During the talk, at least one slide (ideally more) about Euro-BioImaging services must be presented. Applicants are welcome to also specifically highlight their Node and its services alongside the wider Euro-BioImaging overview. The Euro-BioImaging team will provide the required materials for the presentation.
Budget: Euro-BioImaging will reimburse travel costs, accommodation, and conference fees up to 750€ per applicant.
In the selection of awarded supports, we will aim to balance both the targeted scientific communities, geographic diversity, and Node diversity. Only one request per facility will be awarded and support may be capped per Node, based on uptake of this program.
The award will take the form of a reimbursement. This means that all original receipts must be kept (flight receipts as well as boarding passes, train tickets, hotel invoices etc.) and awardees are obliged to choose the most economical means of travel and accommodation. This would normally be standard class, economy or equivalent.
To receive the reimbursement, applicants have to submit a conference report to Euro-BioImaging alongside the reimbursement request. Forms for the report and reimbursement request will be provided to the selected applicants.
Applications:
Applications are accepted and evaluated on a rolling basis to address the varying time points of conferences. We aim to provide information on the outcome of the application within a maximum of one month of receipt of the application.
To submit your application please complete this application form.
Deadline: Rolling application timeline. A certain number of grants will be awarded per year, therefore you can currently only apply for conferences taking place before July 2026.
Assessment and Selection:
Applications will be assessed individually on a rolling basis, as soon as they are submitted. They will be reviewed by the Euro-BioImaging Hub team against the following criteria:
- relevance of the meeting to address a new or under-represented user community,
- connection of the applicant with the community,
- impact (how this can be beneficial for both Euro-BioImaging and the community).
Balance between user communities, geographical coverage, gender of applicants, and Node representation and domain will be taken into account in the selection.
Instruction to request the reimbursement of expenses
Instructions on how to request the reimbursement of expenses will be provided to the awarded applicants only.
For more information on the call, please contact info@eurobioimaging.eu.
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