Ratification of High Troughput Microscopy Dutch Flagship Node as Euro-BioImaging Node Candidate
The High Troughput Microscopy Dutch Flagship Node that includes the Leiden Cell Observatory Screening platform is now officially ratified as a Euro-BioImaging (EuBI) Node Candidate
The High Throughput Microscopy facility at the Leiden Cell Observatory is now officially recognized as part of Euro-BioImaging (EuBI), a pan-European Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) for imaging technologies.
The Leiden facility is part of the Dutch High Throughput Microscopy Node of EuBI, which is coordinated by prof. Bob van de Water of LACDR. This Node also involves the participation of 2 other Dutch screening facilities: the Cell Screening Center at University Medical Center of Utrecht (Dr. David Egan) and the High Content Screening Facility of the Netherlands Cancer Institute (Dr. Kees Jalink/ Dr. Roderick Beijersbergen). EuBI ratified the nomination of a total of 28 imaging facilities throughout Europe to become the first generation of EuBI nodes.
EuBI will consist of a set of complementary, strongly interlinked but geographically distributed Nodes − specialised imaging facilities − to reach European scientists in all Member States. EuBI will provide open physical user access to a broad range of state-of-the‐art biological and medical imaging technologies for life scientists in Europe and beyond. It will offer image data support and training for infrastructure users and providers and continuously evaluate and include new imaging technologies to provide sustainable, yet cutting‐edge services.
This international recognition is the result of a Dutch collaborative initiative that brought together the national advanced microscopy community, called Netherlands-BioImaging Advanced Microscopy (NL-BioImaging AM). This infrastructure incorporates 19 partners including all major Dutch Universities, University Medical Centers and research institutes. In parallel with EuBI, the aim of this national infrastructure is to provide access to cutting edge microscopy technologies to a broad research community at both national and international levels. Already many internal and external researchers did access the High Throughput Microscopy facility at the Cell Observatory to perform imaging-based screenings.
With the integration in EuBI the ambition is to further host scientists at the High Throughput Microscopy Node to successfully apply high content screening approaches in their own research. Financially supported access will become possible through EuBI.
As a result, this infrastructure will be used intensively in a large European consortium recently awarded with a Horizon 2020 grant of which Prof. B. van de Water is the coordinator.