Connecting Continents and Communities: Reflections from the RI-Hubs Final Meeting in Buenos Aires

Earlier this month, imaging and structural biology communities from across Europe and Latin America convened—onsite in Buenos Aires and online—for the final meeting of RI-Hubs, a project funded under the 4th EU–LAC Joint Call in STI 2022. The hybrid event brought together facility experts, researchers, RI operators and policy-level actors to reflect on achievements, share lessons learned, and strengthen the commitment to sustained collaboration between Europe and Latin America.

For Euro-BioImaging, participating in RI-Hubs allows us to build on our long-standing cooperation with the Latin America BioImaging (LABI) community, enabled through Global BioImaging, a cornerstone for connecting imaging communities across continents, supporting training, and exchanging best practices in open access RI operations.

Staff Exchanges: From Visits to Lasting Collaborations

The meeting opened with an overview of the project’s staff exchange activities—one of the clearest examples of practical, high-impact collaboration enabled by the RI-Hubs project. The Exchange Committee shared the positive feedback from the facility staff who participated in the exchange visits and highlighted how natural partnerships between the project partners emerged during the program.

Speakers from Peru, Brazil, and Uruguay shared concrete experiences demonstrating how cross-continental exchanges foster not only skills development but also ongoing scientific collaboration.

A standout example came from Leonel Malacrida, Institute Pasteur Montevideo, who presented a FLIM-focused exchange built on a train-the-trainer philosophy. Facility staff from Euro-BioImaging’s PPBI Node in Portugal visited Leonel’s facility in Uruguay for hands-on training and later welcomed Uruguayan colleagues as trainers in Portugal at a major PPBI-organised FLIM course. The collaboration extended to presentation of the FLIM analysis tools at the SPAOM meeting in Portugal and contributed to an increasing uptake of the PhasorPy software that Leonel and his team developed, illustrating how technical learning and teaching reinforce each other.

These exchanges showed the tangible value of facility-to-facility collaboration: the strengthening of expertise, community confidence, and shared scientific culture.

Training, Outreach, and Building a Cross-Regional Learning Community

Paula Sampaio, from PPBI—Portugal’s Euro-BioImaging Node and chair of the Training Committee, presented a rich overview of training and outreach activities. 

Since 2023, 15 courses and training events have been delivered across Europe and Latin America under the RI-Hubs framework - an impressive outcome demonstrating the community’s commitment to capacity building. These activities significantly strengthened local expertise and visibility in both bioimaging and structural biology.

In addition to the training courses, the RI-Hubs project organised a series of webinars addressing training needs on professional skills coming from a community training survey. The webinars covered the topics from Image Data Management, Facility Management, and Scientific Diplomacy – with each webinar featuring one presenter from Europe and one from Latin America. The webinar series was very well attended from both communities and formed a basis for lively exchange. All webinars are available on Euro-BioImaging's YouTube channel.

Linking to Broader EU–CELAC Initiatives

RI-Hubs did not exist in isolation. The meeting underscored how the project worked closely with complementary EU–CELAC initiatives such as ResInfraPlus and the EU–LAC Study Visit programme. These interactions broadened the reach of RI-Hubs, facilitated engagement with ministries and policy makers, and helped raise the profile of Latin American imaging and structural biology communities at European-level RI and ESFRI discussions.

For Euro-BioImaging, collaboration with our LABI colleagues is essential—scientifically, strategically, and personally. RI-Hubs showed the importance of working together, learning from each other, and strengthening connections across continents, especially in increasingly difficult environments. These relationships are what make the global imaging community resilient and capable of building something meaningful together.”

-- Johanna Bischof, Head of Bio-Hub Operations at Euro-BioImaging

The impact was visible—for example, through LABI’s invited participation in the ESFRI meeting in Vienna and strengthened connections with industry and international partners from the study visit for Latin American Imaging Scientists hosted by Global BioImaging.

National Capacity: Momentum Across Latin America

Day 1 concluded with national case studies from Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Portugal, and Argentina, offering a valuable perspective on the developments in the diverse infrastructural landscape, shared challenges, and opportunities for collaboration. Presentations highlighted:

• Brazil’s impressive and rapidly expanding cryo-EM capabilities at CNPEM and CENABIO,
• growing light microscopy capacity in Uruguay,
• the computational hub model emerging in Peru,
• ongoing developments in Portugal’s cryo-EM community, and
• the still-evolving efforts in Argentina and Uruguay to consolidate coordinated facility strategies.

These insights demonstrated both the progress made and the opportunities ahead for structured, long-term cooperation.

Strategic Reflections and the Road Ahead

Day 2 discussions focused on broader strategic considerations for future EU–CELAC collaboration, including evolving Horizon Europe frameworks, opportunities for continued internationalisation, and areas where joint RI efforts could have particular impact. These conversations highlighted a shared desire to maintain momentum, continue learning from one another, and explore possibilities for a future RI-Hubs collaboration.

A Community Strengthened Through Collaboration

Across both days, the RI-Hubs final meeting served as a reminder that meaningful collaboration is built through trust, engagement, and the willingness to share both expertise and challenges. The project demonstrated how imaging and structural biology communities across continents can support one another even in complex or uncertain environments.

As Johanna Bischof, Head of Bio-Hub Operations at Euro-BioImaging, reflected:
“For Euro-BioImaging, collaboration with our LABI colleagues is essential—scientifically, strategically, and personally. RI-Hubs showed the importance of working together, learning from each other, and strengthening connections across continents, especially in increasingly difficult environments. These relationships are what make the global imaging community resilient and capable of building something meaningful together.”

The Buenos Aires meeting closed with clear appreciation for what has been achieved—and strong motivation to continue nurturing this cross-continental interdisciplinary community.