COMULISglobe partners meet in Aalen to shape future directions for multimodal imaging collaboration

On May 7–8, 2026, partners of the COMULISglobe initiative gathered at Hochschule Aalen in Germany for a strategic planning meeting hosted by Andreas Walter, Principal Investigator of the COMULISglobe project. Consortium members from across Europe as well as global partners joined both in person and online, reflecting the highly collaborative and international nature of the community.

Advancing multimodal imaging technologies

The meeting brought together technology developers, imaging scientists, and community coordinators working across the field of correlative and multimodal imaging — an interdisciplinary approach that combines multiple imaging modalities to gain a more complete understanding of biological systems across scales. COMULISglobe builds on the earlier COMULIS COST Action and aims to advance multimodal imaging through networking, training, access opportunities, and technology development.

Over the two-day meeting, partners shared updates on ongoing technical developments and emerging imaging workflows from across the consortium. Discussions highlighted continued progress in correlated imaging approaches and reinforced the strong scientific and technological expertise distributed throughout the network.

In addition to the strategic discussions, participants also visited the imaging facilities at Hochschule Aalen and the Zeiss Visitor Center, where they had the opportunity to explore state-of-the-art multimodal imaging technologies and recent developments in the field.

Planning future collaboration and community activities

A major focus of the meeting was the future sustainability of the initiative and the wider COMULIS Society. Participants explored possible funding opportunities and collaborative models that could support continued networking, training activities, and technology exchange in the years ahead. Discussions reflected the shared interest in maintaining COMULIS as an active platform for collaboration and community building within the multimodal imaging field.

The meeting also reflected on the broader role that COMULISglobe has played in connecting researchers and facilities across disciplines and continents. Through conferences, workshops, training schools, mobility grants, showcase projects, and collaborations with infrastructures such as Euro-BioImaging, the initiative has helped strengthen the global multimodal imaging community and foster new interdisciplinary collaborations.

Collaboration with Euro-BioImaging

COMULISglobe is one of the external partner communities collaborating with Euro-BioImaging, with joint activities and community engagement currently supported through the EVOLVE project (GA# 101130986). This collaboration has contributed to strengthening connections between the multimodal imaging community and the wider Euro-BioImaging Node network through joint events, outreach, and technology-focused exchanges.

While the current funding landscape for international community-driven initiatives remains challenging, the discussions in Aalen highlighted the strong value that collaborative networks such as COMULISglobe continue to bring to the imaging community. Partners expressed interest in continuing joint activities and identifying future opportunities to support multimodal imaging research, training, and technology development.

Learn more about COMULIS and the COMULIS Society at the COMULIS official website: https://www.comulis.eu/