Euro-BioImaging Nodes showcase imaging at European Researcher’s Night 2025

Every year in September, researchers across Europe take time to share their passion for science with their local communities. With overwhelming enthusiasm and creativity, these experts inspire children and their families, ensuring that scientific themes are accessible to a wide audience. This year, we highlight a selection of European Researcher’s Night events organised by our Nodes (and Scientific Ambassadors). Come with us on a tour of Europe, from Portugal to the Czech Republic, with stops in France and Italy, to check out amazing images from microscopy, creative games and other fun activities that share the magic of imaging science with the general public.

Coimbra, Portugal

Our tour starts in Coimbra, Portugal, where our Scientific Ambassador, Vanessa Coelho-Santos, junior Group Leader at the University of Coimbra, organised an activity, one of the 93 activities led by more than 600 scientists from the University of Coimbra, at the European Researcher’s Night event in downtown Coimbra, in collaboration with her lab and the Portuguese Brain Imaging Network (BIN) Node. At a booth called ‘GPF of emotions’ that combined lights, colors, and games, Vanessa and her team explained basic brain function to passersby and shared how imaging technologies help researchers to better understand what’s going on in the brain.

“I loved seeing so many people discovering how the brain works, how it’s built, and the role it plays in every part of our daily lives  — in particular, learning about the blood vessels in our brain and how important they are for brain health and clinical functional imaging,” explains Vanessa. “We designed an interactive booth to explain the basic principles of imaging applied to neuroscience research, and of course, we were able to speak also about how important international collaboration is to our work.”

European Researcher's Night in Coimbra, Portugal

The European Researcher’s Night in Coimbra with Vanessa Coelho-Santos and Inês Bernadino from CIBIT (Portuguese Brain Imaging Network Node) (left image) and members of Vanessa's team (right image).

In addition, Vanessa helped raise awareness of Euro-BioImaging’s mission among both the scientific and local communities, by presenting a Portuguese version of its methodologies and showcasing how open access to advanced imaging technologies supports cutting-edge biomedical research. An amazing exhibition that generated a lot of curiosity and engagement from students, tourists, and families. It also offered a valuable opportunity to recruit volunteers to participate in the ongoing studies at CIBIT and within the Portuguese Brain Imaging Network Node, which rely on community involvement to advance brain research. Altogether, it was a memorable evening that strengthened the connection between science and society.

I loved seeing so many people discovering how the brain works, how it’s built, and the role it plays in every part of our daily lives  — in particular, learning about the blood vessels in our brain and how important they are for brain health and clinical functional imaging.”

-- Vanessa Coelho-Santos, Euro-BioImaging Scientific Ambassador

Montpellier, France

Under the warm autumn sun of southern France, our colleagues from Montpellier Ressources Imagerie (MRI)—part of the France-BioImaging Node of Euro-BioImaging —in collaboration with Addict aux Sciences, a science communication association, unveiled an exceptional gallery of microscopy images entitled “La Vie est Belle!”. This exhibition, which will tour several locations in the South of France, celebrates the aesthetic and scientific beauty of life as revealed through advanced imaging technologies.

A selection of these microscopy images was shared at the European Researchers’ Night, hosted in the courtyard of Lycée Joffre in Montpellier, which gathered around 170 researchers and attracted approximately 1,500 visitors. The presence of Euro-BioImaging EVOLVE-supported visuals provided a compelling bridge between scientific research and the public, highlighting how imaging reveals the unseen mechanisms of life.

Milan, Italy

Our tour continues to Italy, where researchers from IBSBC-CNR in Milan, part of our Molecular Imaging Italian Node, organised posters, games and fun activities for the whole family in Milan’s beautiful Piazza Mercanti, near the Duomo. The event took place from Friday, September 26, to Saturday, September 27. All of the local research institutions from different fields of basic or applied medicine were present. Hundreds of people attended, including families, students of all ages, and tourists.

Sara Belloli and Silvia Valtorta, researchers at IBSBC-CNR, engaged with the visitors, explaining the wide variety of research projects supported by their preclinical molecular imaging laboratory. Some of the creative ways they engaged with students included asking them to identify objects from everyday life that had been imaged using MRI or other molecular imaging techniques, and by playing a memory game with PET/MRI images of the body. 

In addition to the general public, Sara and Silvia had the pleasure of hosting Mrs. Lucy Swan and Mrs. Sophie Pilette from Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, European Commission – Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, who showed great interest in the research activities in the field of oncological imaging and neurodegeneration carried out by the group. A highly successful event which did much to raise the visibility of imaging and scientific collaboration with a diverse audience. 

Prague & Brno, Czech Republic

This year, researchers from the Czech-BioImaging Core Facilities once again took part in the European Researchers’ Night, held on Friday, September 26, 2025, under the theme Wealth. Across several participating sites — including IMG Light Microscopy and Electron Microscopy, IPHYS BIF, and BC LEM (Prague Node) and MUNI MAFIL CEITEC (Brno Node) —  visitors were invited to explore the hidden worlds of microscopy, imaging, and scientific discovery through a diverse programme of interactive demonstrations and engaging activities prepared by our staff.

The programme showcased the breadth of Czech-BioImaging’s expertise. At IMG, guided tours of the Light Microscopy facility introduced advanced imaging techniques and analysis methods, while the Electron Microscopy tours revealed the wealth of the nanoworld and its applications in cell and structural biology. IPHYS presented the richness of spatial (3D) microscopy with VR demonstrations and 3D vessel visualisations, and MUNI MAFIL invited visitors to explore brain dynamics through interactive virtual simulations. BC LEM’s exhibition Insect Faces highlighted the diversity, evolutionary history, and ecological importance of insects, combining striking imagery with a message about biodiversity conservation.

The event was a great success, inspiring curiosity in visitors of all ages and highlighting how cutting-edge imaging technologies drive innovation, deepen knowledge, and connect science with society.

Impactful events across Europe

We are always impressed by the creativity of our community and their ability to inspire diverse audiences about imaging and scientific research. Their amazing creative efforts to explain the power of imaging in supporting human health research and beyond are so important to help raise awareness about basic research & connect with local communities.