Major EU funding for user access &  AI development, staff training, data stewardship & many more exciting new services!

Euro-BioImaging ERIC is deeply grateful to announce that the European Union has entrusted our infrastructure with funding to shape the future of imaging and life sciences research. In the latest Horizon Europe funding round, a total of 12 European projects involving Euro-BioImaging as coordinator or partner were selected, with direct benefits for our Nodes and user community. We spoke to Euro-BioImaging’s Directors to learn more.  

“This is a major achievement for Euro-BioImaging. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work together with our Nodes to strengthen cutting-edge imaging and with the European life sciences research infrastructure community to shape the European Research landscape thanks to our project involvement,” says Euro-BioImaging’s Director General, John Eriksson. Together, the newly funded projects represent a major European investment to strengthen research infrastructures and services, with significant funding directly to Euro-BioImaging and its Node and user community across Europe. These projects will expand user access to Europe’s most advanced imaging technologies, accelerate the integration of AI into life science research, and strengthen the skills and careers of the technical experts who operate research infrastructures.

“This successful funding round is the result of many hours of work from Euro-BioImaging Hub team members to develop the proposals in collaboration with the community,” explains Med-Hub Section Director, Linda Chaabane. “Together with our fellow research infrastructures and Node community, these projects promise to deliver impact to life science researchers.” 

A range of topics to reinforce research outputs

The newly awarded projects span critical European priorities, including:

• Advanced training and skills development for staff at core facilities (like Euro-BioImaging Nodes) and beyond
• Defining the user access framework for the future European RI landscape
• AI-driven research infrastructure development and access management
• Pandemic preparedness and health resilience
• Biotechnology and biomanufacturing
• Environmental impacts on human health
• Sustainable and FAIR data, computing, and digital research services

Opportunities for our Nodes 

“These projects represent significant investment to be given back to our Nodes and the research community, in the form of user access funding, training and career development opportunities. A third area of influence is in image data services and AI readiness, where we are keen to develop new tools and workflows in collaboration with the community for the benefit of research,” states Antje Keppler, Bio-Hub Section Director. 

Out of the 12 projects with Euro-BioImaging participation, three are coordinated by Euro-BioImaging, putting us in the driving seat for strategic AI developments to improve access to our infrastructure, alongside an impactful training and career development programme for core facility staff at Euro-BioImaging Nodes (including job shadowing, mentoring, and other initiatives to strengthen connectedness, career development and enhance skills of the technical workforce at our Nodes). In addition, Euro-BioImaging leads a project in coordination with a large range of research infrastructure partners to build the foundations for a future European access framework enabling world-class research through open, integrated and sustainable use of Research Infrastructures (RIs).

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to work together with our Nodes to strengthen cutting-edge imaging and with the European life sciences research infrastructure community to shape the European Research landscape thanks to our project involvement,”

-- John Eriksson, Director General

Highlights across the new project portfolio where Euro-BioImaging has a contributing role include user access funding projects supporting infectious disease research collaborations, biotechnology  and biomanufacturing, and impact of environmental factors on human health - coordinated by ERINHA, EU-IBISBA, and EIRENE, respectively - as well as new collaboration opportunities for Nodes and users through the Agroecology partnership; developments for AI-data readiness, including training for data stewards to build Data Stewardship capacity and support FAIR data sharing, plus work on sustainable, accessible and energy-efficient AI tools and workflows.

Through Euro-BioImaging’s distributed network of advanced imaging facilities throughout Europe, the projects will directly support scientists working across biology, medicine, biotechnology and environmental research.

“While we are still in the very early days, we will keep our Nodes informed about these different projects, which will produce very useful outcomes for the community,” confirms Linda Chaabane.

Shaping the future of European Research Infrastructures

A number of projects Euro-BioImaging will contribute to involve strategic collaboration with other research infrastructures to build shared knowledge bases to reinforce research infrastructures, in line with the European Strategy on Research & Technology Infrastructures. 

“These projects represent significant investment to be given back to our Nodes and the research community, in the form of user access funding, training and career development opportunities."

-- Antje Keppler, Bio-Hub Section Director

“After six years of operations, we are very excited about our strong position in the European research infrastructure landscape, and we are very proud to contribute to these initiatives,” says Euro-BioImaging Director General , John Eriksson. 

A bright future for European imaging research and innovation

These initiatives position Euro-BioImaging at the forefront of the emerging convergence between AI, imaging technologies and digital life sciences. By combining cutting-edge imaging technologies, AI-driven data solutions, and coordinated transnational access, this funding success ensures that Euro-BioImaging will play a central role in advancing frontier life science research and translating innovation into societal benefit of researchers, industry and European collaboration in the coming years. This new portfolio of projects strengthens Europe’s capacity to provide world-class imaging services to scientists, ensuring that European imaging research infrastructures remain globally competitive and accessible to the next generation of researchers.

“This successful funding round is the result of many hours of work from Euro-BioImaging Hub team members to develop the proposals in collaboration with the community,”

-- Linda Chaabane, Med-Hub Section Director