When: October 26th - 29th, 2026

Where: HYBRID- EMBL Heidelberg (Germany) + Online

Hashtag: #GBI_EoE2026

Open Access to Imaging around the Globe

Ten years of Global BioImaging, and a room full of reasons to believe in what comes next

Summary

Ten years after its founding, Global BioImaging brought together imaging scientists, core facility managers, technology developers, policymakers, funders and industry partners for its annual Exchange of Experience. Over four days in Heidelberg and online, participants asked what open access to imaging really means in different parts of the world, and what it takes to make it work.

The programme moved from principle to practice. Opening talks from EOSC, CNPEM (Brazil), the African Academy of Sciences and the Novo Nordisk Foundation asked whether open access is essential to building imaging infrastructure. Regional networks from Africa, North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Southeast Asia then gave a reality check on how open access works on the ground.

Later sessions covered platforms and data services, the governance of human imaging data in the AI era, and a funders' panel with Wellcome, Biohub (CZI), the Carl Zeiss Stiftung, South Africa's National Research Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Eight out of the out of the 149 researchers supported by the Imaging4All (i4A) programme presented work from Argentina, Malaysia, Cameroon, India, Guatemala, Brazil, Thailand and Ghana. The event closed with a session on sustainable access and the announcement of EoE2027 in Pune, India.

The week was a reminder that imaging challenges cross borders, and that sharing what we learn can open doors for researchers everywhere. It felt like both a celebration and a beginning.

View the detailed program for the complete picture and talk titles.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in person and online, and to our speakers, moderators, poster presenters, workshop leaders, facility hosts, and regional networks. Thank you also to our industry partners for sharing their expertise and supporting the exchange. We are grateful to EMBL and to the Euro-BioImaging Bio-Hub team for hosting us in Heidelberg, and to the City of Heidelberg for welcoming our community.

Missed a session, or want to revisit one? Talk recordings are available below.

👉 [WATCH THE RECORDINGS- HERE]

For any questions, contact: globalbioimaging@embl.de

See you in Pune for #GBI_EoE2027!

The next Exchange of Experience will take place at IISER Pune, India, hosted by India BioImaging. Click Notify me to be the first to hear when registration, travel grant applications and sponsorship opportunities open for EoE2027.

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ORGANISING COMMITTEE:

Marianna Childress Poli - Euro-BioImaging, External Communications Officer

Johanna Bischof - Euro-BioImaging, Head of Bio-Hub Operations

Susan Muchai - Global BioImaging, i4A Administration Support & Euro-BioImaging, Bio-Hub Administrator

Sophie Winter - Global BioImaging, Network Manager

Deniz Saltukoglu - Global BioImaging, Scientific Project Manager (i4A)

Yara Reis - Global BioImaging, Strategic Alliances Manager

Antje Keppler - Global BioImaging, Founder and Lead Coordinator &Euro-BioImaging, Bio-Hub Director

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE:

Satoshi Ogawa - Monash University Malaysia, Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Director, Optical Imaging Platform- Malaysia- iSEA
Santosh Podder - Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, Senior Technical Officer - India- IBI
Michael Reiche- University of Cape Town, Manager of Africa Microscopy Initiative (AMI) Imaging Centre- South Africa- ABIC & AMI
Lisa Yen- Microscopy Australia, Chief Executive Officer - Australia- MA
Linda Chaabane- Euro-BioImaging, Med-Hub Section Director - Italy - Euro-BioImaging
Lia Pietrasanta - Universidad de Buenos Aires, Coordinator Center for Advanced Microscopy, FCEN- Argentina- SNM & LABI
Kirk Czymmek - Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre, Director, Advanced Bioimaging Laboratory - United States- vEM
Jason Swedlow - Biohub, Senior Director, BioImage Data - United States, co-founder of the Open Microscopy Environment & Glencoe Software
Jan Ellenberg - SciLifeLab, Director - Sweden- EMBL, SciLifeLab & GBI
Alfonso Schmidt- Malaghan Institute, Bioimaging Specialist, Hugh Green Cytometry Centre, New Zealand- President MNZ

PRE-CONFERENCE DAY ADVISORS:

Janina Hanne - German BioImaging (GerBI) Managing Director

Marko Lampe - German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Imaging Scientist/ Speaker GerBI Industry Cooperation team

Claudia Pfander - Euro-BioImaging, Industry Board Coordinator (EBIB)

Herbert Schaden- ZEISS, Vice President & Head of Global PASS Development/Speaker GerBI Industry Cooperation team/Chair Euro-BioImaging Industry Board (EBIB)

>> A warm thank you to our sponsors who made this event possible!

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