IRN BioImage: strengthening scientific cooperation between France and China in bioimaging
The International Research Network (IRN) BioImage, established in 2025, is co-led by Laurent Bourdieu (IBENS, Paris) and Liangyi Chen (National Biomedical Imaging Center, Beijing). It aims to structure French and Chinese bioimaging communities around the theme of “Advanced microscopy and super-resolution applied to life sciences”.
With a duration of five years, the IRN brings together six Chinese research laboratories and nine French laboratories, several of which are members of France-BioImaging. It is notably supported through the organisation of symposia and thematic schools, including the upcoming Sino-French BioImaging Symposium 2026 (SFBS 2026), which will take place in Bordeaux from October 14 to 21, 2026.
A long-standing scientific collaboration
French and Chinese bioimaging communities are among the leading actors in the field at the international level. Both countries have developed national research infrastructures dedicated to bioimaging (France-BioImaging and National Biomedical Imaging China) providing researchers with access to advanced microscopy technologies.
Since 2015, regular scientific exchanges have been established, leading to multiple collaborations and joint publications. In 2017, a delegation of scientists from Peking University was hosted in France at the initiative of France-BioImaging. This dynamic continued with the organisation of two Sino-French symposia, held in Paris in 2019 and in Beijing in 2024.
The creation of IRN BioImage in 2025 builds on these collaborations, with the aim of structuring and expanding them over the long term.
Structuring exchanges and advancing bioimaging approaches
The IRN BioImage (2025-2030) aims to develop and formalise exchanges between French and Chinese researchers in the field of advanced optical microscopy, particularly applied to neuroscience.
The project is structured around four main scientific axes: the development of chemical or genetically encoded probes, the improvement of super-resolution microscopy techniques and deep tissue imaging methods, and image analysis.
On the French side, nine research laboratories are involved, including IBENS (Paris), IINS (Bordeaux), ISMO (Orsay), INP (Marseille), BioCore (Nantes), LBP (Strasbourg), IPHC (Strasbourg), LPEM (Paris), and LOB (Palaiseau).
The IRN also supports researcher mobility between the two countries, through the hosting of PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and senior scientists within partner laboratories. Co-supervised PhD projects are encouraged to strengthen team integration and foster long-term scientific collaborations.
Beyond scientific objectives, the IRN also promotes the exchange of best practices in research infrastructure management and supports the organisation of structuring events for the community.
SFBS 2026: a key event for the international community
In this context, the Sino-French BioImaging Symposium 2026 (SFBS 2026) will mark the next milestone of this cooperation. The event will take place in Bordeaux from October 14 to 21, 2026.
It will include an advanced workshop (October 14-16) aimed at early-career researchers seeking to deepen their theoretical and practical knowledge of super-resolution imaging techniques, followed by an international symposium (October 19-21) bringing together French, Chinese, and European experts.
By combining training and scientific exchange, SFBS 2026 will contribute to strengthening interactions between communities and fostering the emergence of new collaborations in bioimaging.
