The Euro-BioImaging Bio-Hub is part of the Euro-BioImaging ERIC headquarter and is hosted by EMBL in Heidelberg. Euro-BioImaging is the European landmark research infrastructure for biological and biomedical imaging as recognised by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI).
Through Euro-BioImaging, life scientists can access imaging instruments, expertise, training opportunities and data management services that they might not find at their home institutions or among their collaboration partners.
The fully distributed infrastructure of Euro-BioImaging offers its services via 41 Nodes, made up of 200+ internationally renowned imaging facilities, which are located across many European countries and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, EMBL.
Euro-BioImaging is coordinated by a tripartite headquarter that consists of the Hubs located in Turku, Finland, the community-specific section for biological imaging (Bio-Hub), hosted by EMBL, and the community-specific section for biomedical imaging (Med-Hub) in Torino, Italy. The ‘ERIC’ stands for European Research Infrastructure Consortium and is a very distinct form of a legal entity established by the European Commission specifically for organizations just like Euro-BioImaging.
EMBL has been the driving force for Euro-BioImaging from the outset, and has coordinated the infrastructure from its first planning phase in 2008 through interim operations to its successful implementation in November 2019. EMBL’s missions of technology development and transfer, service provision to scientists in its member states and of European integration in the life sciences are perfectly in line with Euro-BioImaging’s goal to open the best national imaging facilities for all researchers in a coordinated and harmonized manner. By hosting the Euro-BioImaging Bio-Hub, EMBL promotes coordinated open access strategies to imaging services. As a Euro-BioImaging Node, EMBL provides open access to cutting-edge imaging services, high-quality training programs and publicly available image data services to Euro-BioImaging users, and contributes leading experience and expertise in imaging technology development and application. The fruitful collaboration of EMBL and Euro-BioImaging ERIC has driven the development of the European imaging community, as well as different national imaging communities, and reinforces EMBL’s position as the intergovernmental infrastructure organization in life sciences.
Since November 2019, EMBL officially hosts the Euro-BioImaging Bio-Hub and the Euro-BioImaging general data services. Tasks and responsibilities of the Bio-Hub include:
Furthermore, the Bio-Hub is also engaged in many additional activities and projects to support the Euro-BioImaging stakeholders and imaging communities in Europe and beyond:
In addition, members of the Bio-Hub team at EMBL spearhead the coordination of Global BioImaging, an international network of imaging infrastructures and communities. Global BioImaging was established in 2015 to address challenges in imaging infrastructures worldwide. Their mission is to foster international cooperation, advocate for imaging technologies in life sciences, and enhance capacity-building globally. Through training programs and grants (the latter particularly focused on low- and middle-income countries), they aim to empower researchers, advance scientific knowledge, and promote collaboration in imaging sciences to accelerate exchange and imaging innovation across the Globe.
The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, ESFRI, is a strategic instrument to develop Europe’s scientific integration as well as to strengthen its international outreach. The Forum operates at the forefront of European and global science policy and contributes to its development by translating political objectives into concrete advice for research infrastructures in Europe.