National Infrastructure for Biological and Medical Imaging

The aim of the Czech-BioImaging project is to provide researchers in the Czech Republic with a permanent access to the latest imaging technologies, which are not available in their own institutions, and with qualified support in imaging data acquisition and processing. Czech-BioImaging will also encourage mutual cooperation and sharing of knowledge and experience among researchers, and thus will help increase competitiveness of the research in the Czech Republic. Special training programmes will improve the professional qualification of researchers in biological and medical imaging, knowledge of which is a key prerequisite for any research activity in biomedical sciences. Czech-BioImaging will serve primarily the national research community in a harmonized collaboration with the relevant national and European research infrastructures. Czech-BioImaging addresses needs in imaging at various levels – from imaging of organisms, tissues and cells, down to imaging of cell organelles, transport, biomolecules and their interactions in health and disease. The continuous technological development makes imaging one of the most powerful tool in biomedical research, but connected with the adverse effect of the exponential growth of prices of imaging instrumentation and of the need of highly qualified personnel operating this instrumentation and processing the acquired data. Czech-BioImaging will ensure that public investments in biomedical imaging will return in an effective manner by merging the best instrumentation and knowledge into one complex that provides high-quality services to the research community in the Czech Republic in a coordinated and transparent way, and by sharing costs for implementation, further development and provision of these services. Czech-BioImaging will also conduct its own methodological research and development, especially in the area of development and implementation of new imaging methods.