Four new invited speakers have been announced for SFBS 2026, further enriching the scientific programme dedicated to super-resolution microscopy for biological imaging.

Here’s few places left, you can still register for the event!

Rainer Heintzmann

Rainer Heintzmann, studied physics and computer science in Osnabrück and finished his Dr. rer. nat. in Physics at Heidelberg University, Germany. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute of biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen and as a group leader at the Randall Division, King’s College London he continued to work on developing fluorescence microscopy methods.

Currently he is a professor of Physical Chemistry at the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, and heads the microscopy research unit at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology in Jena, Germany.

His research focuses on methods for imaging cellular function at high resolution and developing techniques to measure multidimensional information in small biological objects such as cells, cellular organelles or other small structures of interest.

He developed structured illumination, pointillism, image inversion interferometry and optical photon reassignment and is highly interested in computer-based reconstruction and inverse modelling methods such as deconvolution.

Bei Liu

Dr. Bei Liu joined the College of Future Technology at Peking University as an Assistant Professor in 2022. Prior to this appointment, he conducted his postdoctoral research with Professor Klaus M. Hahn at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2015, and was promoted to Research Assistant Professor in 2019.

His laboratory develops novel molecular tools and microscopy techniques to visualize and control cell behavior across scales, with a particular focus on biosensors and optogenetics.

The lab takes a multidisciplinary approach, integrating high-throughput, advanced imaging with AI-driven protein design, image analysis, and laboratory automation.

His work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Cell, Nature Chemical Biology, and Nature Communications.

Flavie Lavoie-Cardinal

Flavie Lavoie-Cardinal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Université Laval and Deputy Director of the Cellular and Molecular Research Axis at the CERVO Brain Research Centre in Québec City, Canada.

She is Scientific Director of the AI-for-Health Platform PREDIS, and of the Canadian Optical Nanoscopy Platform.

She holds the Canada Research Chair in Intelligent Nanoscopy of Cellular Plasticity and leads interdisciplinary research at the intersection of optical microscopy, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence.

Her laboratory develops AI-assisted super-resolution microscopy and computational approaches to uncover how nanoscale synaptic organization and heterogeneity shape neuronal function and plasticity across biological scales.

Fan Xu

Fan Xu is a Professor in the School of Optics and Photonics at Beijing Institute of Technology (Lab website: www.xulab.cc). Fan received the PhD degree in computer science from Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017 and then worked as a postdoctoral fellow and senior research associate in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue University

His research focuses on the development and application of super-resolution microscopy techniques, especially in 3D super-resolution imaging and single molecule localization analysis.

He combines novel imaging instruments and physical model or data-driven approaches to investigate cellular/tissue structures and dynamics that are below the diffraction limit of light and therefore inaccessible to conventional microscopy.

His publications include Nature Methods, Cell Research, Nature Communications, Protein & cell, and Biomedical Optics Express.

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet these experts during SFBS 2026! Join us in Bordeaux from October 19 to 21, 2026!

We are happy to announce that the new edition of our machine learning competition, Light My Cells 2, is now open! This Challenge completes the previous Light My Cells in 2024 with additional data and a new prediction task.

Light My Cells 2 is organized in two phases, the validation phase (September 21^st – November 30^th) and the evaluation phase (December 1^st – December 13^th).

Find more information below.

The Challenge: a data machine learning competition

Since 2024, France-BioImaging organizes its data machine learning competition in the aim to respond to the microscopy community issues.

With Light My Cells 1, participants predicted fluorescence images of four cellular structures – nucleus, mitochondria, tubulin, and actin – from label-free transmitted-light microscopy images acquired using bright-field (BF), phase-contrast (PC), or differential interference contrast (DIC) modalities. This technique is also known as in-silico labelling.

This Challenge established a large-scale, multi-site benchmark for evaluating in-silico fluorescence prediction from transmitted-light unlabeled microscopy images under realistic imaging variability.

Light My Cells 2 introduces additional training data and a new prediction task to reconstruct the fluorescence maximum-intensity projection (MIP) from transmitted-light image stacks.

Light My Cells 2 tasks

To help the participants build their algorithm, they have access to a training dataset of 76 studies, which represents more than 150 000 images. From these acquisition-sets, participants will have to create an algorithm to:

• Predict the best-focused output-images of four fluorescently labelled organelles from label-free 2D transmitted light input-images.

• Predict the MIP output-images of four fluorescently labelled organelles from a stack of 2D input-images of label-free transmitted light.

Key informations

The Challenge is now open and you can register to access the training dataset and start building your algorithm!

From September 21^st, 2026, the validation phase begins – you will be able to test your algorithm and the submission process, up to five test submissions.

From December 1^st to 13^th, 2026, the evaluation phase will start – participants will have one final submission.

The results will be announced on December 18^th, 2026.

Ready to take part in the Challenge? Discover Light My Cells 2 here: https://lightmycells2.grand-challenge.org/lightmycells2/

This image contest is open to all within the imaging community: core facility staff and users, R&D labs teams and co-workers, students… Submit your best microscopy images for a chance to showcase your skills, research and creativity to the French bioimaging community and beyond, allowing people to see the visual appeal of the life sciences. Images from the contest will be featured on France-BioImaging communication tools, online and in print.

France-BioImaging and all the French community aims to develop and promote innovative imaging technologies and methods. But microscopy images can also take an artistic, creative look and make the invisible world beautiful.

We are all eager to see your work!

Prizes

• First place: France-BioImaging will cover the registration fees for one 2027 microscopy related event of the winner’s choice (FOM, ELMI, EMC, COMULIS conference, etc.).
• Top 3: Your images will be added to the CNRS and INSERM image librairies.
• All participants: Your images will be used in our communication materials (digital calendar, flyers, social media posts, etc.), and some of you may also be invited for an interview about your research work.

Important: Only French or foreign participants affiliated to a French institution can enter the contest. Foreign participants non-affiliated to a French institution can submit images and will be featured in the gallery, but will not be evaluated as part of the contest.

Submission deadline: Sunday, November 22th, 2026, 23h59

FBI - Image Contest 2026 Submission

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

Research team

Institution & Lab *

Artistic title for your image *

Microscopy technology used *

Was your image acquired using equipment available at a France-BioImaging facility? *

Yes

No

At which facility? *

Detailed description of the image (Please describe the image in detail, including the object observed, the meaning of the different colours if applicable, the research purpose for which the image was produced if applicable, and any other information you consider interesting or important.) *

This description will be used as a caption in the France-BioImaging gallery. If you are selected as one of the winners, it may also be sent to the CNRS and the INSERM photo libraries.

Image upload *

Drop a file here or click to upload Choose File

Maximum file size: 67.11MB

Images in high resolution are preferred (1000x1000 pixels and above). File format: JPG, PNG.

Credits & copyrights if needed

Precise credits and copyrights if required (if this field is left clear, the credits will be: Author name - Institution & Lab)

Name of the microscopy related event you would like to attend in 2027

Remember that FBI will provide the registration fees if you win the contest, but will not cover the travel or accommodation costs to the event. FBI is not responsible for the pre-registration or the acceptance of your participation to the event (organizers' prerogatives). As per the Terms & Conditions of the contest, foreign participants not affiliated to a French institution can submit images but will not be entered in the contest.

By participating in this contest, you agree that the image(s) you submit can be used for any communication purpose by France-BioImaging without prior notice or mention. *

Yes, I agree

If you are human, leave this field blank.

Δ

Click here to consult the terms and conditions of the contest. When you are ready, submit your entry by filling the form below. You can check out last edition’s entries for inspiration. One participant can submit several entries (up to 3).

(If you have any issues when submitting your image, please contact communication@france-bioimaging.org)

The second edition of FBI Connect will take place on Thursday, May 21st at 11:00 AM. This webinar will present BioImage Cloud, a solution developed within France-BioImaging to support the management and reuse of bioimaging data.

FBI Connect is a webinar series dedicated to showcasing projects developed within France-BioImaging. It provides an opportunity for the community to discover new tools, services and approaches and to better understand how they can be integrated into research workflows.

For this next session we will welcome Guillaume Gay from the FBI.data team, who will introduce BioImage Cloud, a solution designed to support bioimaging data management.

BioImage Cloud connects OMERO, storage, and computing resources into a unified environment, with the aim of simplifying data workflows. It enables users to organise, access, and reuse imaging data over time, while supporting collaborative work and long-term data management.

This session will provide an overview of the solution, how it works and its applications for daily practices in imaging facilities. It will also be an opportunity to exchange directly with the team and discuss current needs and use cases.

When? Thursday, May 21st at 11:00 AM
Where? https://u-bordeaux-fr.zoom.us/meeting/register/c2-LmdqXQh6TeukMVGKBVg

Last March, the France-BioImaging community gathered in Rouen for two days of discussions around “Multimodalities for organ and organism imaging”.

Experts from across our nodes shared their latest advances, showcasing a wide range of imaging approaches across biological systems. Four main scientific sessions structured the meeting:

• Plants & invertebrates
• Brain
• Muscles, heart & lungs
• Intestine & liver

Curious to explore these presentations and discover the latest developments in bioimaging?

The full replay is now available on YouTube!

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/5qTYaacjzcU

France-BioImaging and all the French community aims to develop and promote innovative imaging technologies and methods. But microscopy images can also take an artistic, creative look and make the invisible world beautiful, allowing people to see the visual appeal of the life sciences. 

We enjoyed the diversity of the images submitted with many different microscopy techniques, models and applications represented. A big thank you to all the participants!

The National Coordination Team and the Executive Board are proud to announce the winners of the FBI Image Contest 2025:

1st Place: Nicolas Barois, BioImaging Center Lille (BICeL)

Gut Flower-Flora

Cross-sectional view of a thin slice of mouse gut. By cutting a thin slice of the gut, the inner went out. Normally I cut the gut in small tubes, which are cut in two longitudinal pieces. I kept this piece because I was curious to see it with the SEM.
Scanning Electron Microscopy

2nd Place: Vishwadeep Mane, Plant Reproduction and Development Laboratory (RPD, ENS Lyon)

The Puzzled Awakening

Cotyledons, the first leaves of a plant, break free from the seed to launch life after germination. Emerging as a pair, they unfold into a nearly perfect, circular lamina that captures light for photosynthesis. At the microscopic scale, their surface reveals a mosaic of interlocking puzzle-shaped cells, dotted with stomata. These intricate cell shapes are nature’s solution to balancing internal pressure, relieving mechanical stress, while guiding growth into a robust and harmonious form. Between the cotyledons rises the first genuine leaf, a quiet promise of the plant’s future. Cotyledons mark the awakening of life, and in their puzzled cells, we see both resilience and beauty.
Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy

3rd Place: Simli Dey, Membranes and Cellular Functions Team, Institut Curie

Kaleidoscope

Directing branched actin filament growth from a curved lipid membrane site.
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescent Microscopy

Congratulations to the winners!

Explore all the images submitted here:

On the occasion of the launch of France-BioImaging’s new challenge, Fuse My Cells, we reached out to the winners of the previous edition (Challenge – Light My Cells). Today, we invite you to meet Yu Zhou, research associate at the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences (ISAS).

Hello Yu, I’m glad to meet you! Where are you from?

I am originally from Jiangsu Province, China. Currently, I live in Dortmund, Germany, where I work at the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences (ISAS).

What is your background and your professional activity?

My professional background is in biomedical image processing, where I focus on applying AI algorithms to analyze and enhance imaging data. A key aspect of my work is improving efficiency, such as using model quantization and pruning to reduce inference energy consumption, as well as applying biomedical image compression to lower storage and bandwidth costs. Recently, I have also been exploring research in foundational models for omics data, aiming to bridge different modalities in biomedical research.

Why did you decide to participate in the France-BioImaging challenge “Light My Cells”?

I learned about the Challenge “Light My Cells” through my supervisor, who discovered the competition on X and shared it with me. I had never participated in a competition on the Grand Challenge platform before, so I wanted to experience the full process of such a challenge. Also we found the problem itself very interesting, and thanks to a previous project, we were already somewhat familiar with this topic.

What was the most challenging part of the competition for you?

The most challenging part of the competition was data processing. We used a semi-automated approach that combined an automated pipeline with manual curation for data filtering. This process was quite time-consuming.

How did you manage your time during the competition?

For the experimental phase, our team worked in parallel on several tasks: data cleaning, trying different network architectures, and conducting hyperparameter searches. However, when it came to writing the final paper, we were somewhat rushed as we had only about two weeks left to complete it.

What are your thoughts about Challenge 2 “Fuse My Cells”?

What excites me most about this challenge is its innovation. Predicting a fused 3D image directly from a single view bypasses some potential issues of multi-view fusion, such as light toxicity. Additionally, with a well-constructed dataset, the solution could be more generalizable, enabling models to perform image restoration across all the various 3D perspectives.

Do you have any advice for the participants of Challenge 2?

1. Pay attention to the data.
2. Keep an open mind and be willing to explore different strategies, including model selection and training methods.
3. Manage your time wisely by balancing the experimental phase and paper writing.

Thank you very much for your time, Yu! I’m sure your testimony will be useful for the participants of Challenge 2.

For those interested in taking part in the “Fuse My Cells” challenge, find more information here!

On the occasion of the launch of France-BioImaging’s new challenge, Fuse My Cells, we reached out to the winners of the previous edition (Challenge – Light My Cells). Today, we invite you to meet Marek Wodziński, a post-doc in the Institute of Informatics at HES-SO Valais-Wallis in Switzerland.

Hello Marek, I’m glad to meet you! Where are you from?

I am from Poland – currently working both in Poland (AGH University of Kraków) and Switzerland (HES-SO Valais).

What is your background and your professional activity?

I have a PhD in Biomedical Engineering & Computer Science from AGH University of Kraków and I am currently working as PostDoc in HES-SO Valais. I have worked in the field of medical image analysis, computer vision, machine & deep learning for more than 7 years so far.

Why did you decide to participate in the France-BioImaging challenge “Light My Cells”?

Taking part in scientific challenges is a great way to explore previously unknown subfields and gain valuable experience in new topics. When I came across the challenge on the IEEE ISBI website, I immediately recognized it as an opportunity to deepen my expertise in biological imaging and expand my research network.

What was the most challenging part of the competition for you?

As in every challenge – to fully understand the goal, the data, and the associated challenges. The most time-consuming part in scientific challenges work is to explore the dataset and understand which challenges related to the data are the most important, e.g. in the Light My Cells challenge it was connected with significant dataset imbalance, both at the study and organelles level.

How did you manage your time during the competition?

I started with exploring the data and thinking how the problem should be addressed. The process took me more than half of the time I spent on the challenge. Then, I implemented and debugged the training and evaluation scripts. Finally, I queued all ablation studies on our supercomputing platform (ACK Cyfronet Athena) and chose the best model.

Do you have any projects or aspirations related to imaging or research after this competition?

The competition improved my experience related to image-to-image translation tasks that could be further used in different downstream applications I am working on, e.g. MR-to-CT translation in radiology. I continue to work both in digital pathology and radiology where I develop novel deep learning techniques.

What are your thoughts about Challenge 2 “Fuse My Cells”?

Definitely the most difficult aspect of the Fuse My Cells challenge is the timeline – there is only 1.5 months to develop and evaluate the solution.

Do you have any advice for the participants of Challenge 2?

I suggest starting with exploring the data and understanding the associated challenges. Then, it is wise to explore the current state-of-the-art to understand the best-performing solutions and improve them. The practical part related to developing the scripts and  performing ablation studies is usually significantly less influential.

Thank you very much for your time, Marek! I’m sure your testimony will be useful for the participants of Challenge 2.

For those interested in taking part in the “Fuse My Cells” challenge, find more information here!

France-BioImaging’s “Preclinical Microscopy” Working Group is organizing its next webinar on February 6th, 2025, from 14:00 to 16:00. The main objective of this Working Group is to advance multimodal microscopy of thick samples for preclinical studies.

During this webinar, you will have the opportunity to discuss the latest research, technologies, and regulatory frameworks related to photonic microscopy, spanning from the scale of organs/organoids to live animals.

Program:

14:00 – Welcoming and introduction

14:05 – “Exploring Mammary Gland Remodeling and Breast Cancer Therapies Through 3D Organoid Imaging” by Thomas Pelé (CRCI2NA, Nantes)

14:55 – Presentation on animal ethics (title to be confirmed) by Magali Jacquier (IPBS, Toulouse)

15:45 – Open discussion

Join the webinar:

Click here to join the Microsoft Teams meeting.

Please connect using your last name and first name so we can update the participants’ list.