As part of its international strategy, France‑BioImaging has initiated an ambitious collaboration with China, anchored in the creation of an International Research Network (IRN) — a five‑year program officially submitted and validated by the CNRS.
The launch of this cooperation began in April 2024, when FBI co‑organised the 2nd Sino‑French Joint Meeting on BioImaging in Beijing, hosted by Peking University, as part of the celebrations marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between France and China. This three‑day event brought together 12 French speakers — mostly FBI-affiliated — and 17 Chinese colleagues to share the latest innovations in multimodal and cross‑scale imaging, data analysis, and platform strategies. It also included strategic meetings with NBIC (National Biomedical Imaging Center), the CNRS bureau in Beijing, and the French Embassy, laying the foundation for long‑term collaboration.
Building on this successful first step, FBI coordinated the submission of the IRN China project to the CNRS in 2025. The network focuses on advanced optical imaging — including the design of fluorescent probes, super‑resolution microscopy, deep tissue imaging and AI‑driven image analysis.
The IRN China brings together major institutions:
- In France: IBENS (ENS Paris), IINS (Bordeaux), ISMO (Université Paris‑Saclay) and INP (Toulouse)
- In China: National Biomedical Imaging Center (Peking University), Institute of Biophysics (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and Westlake University (Hangzhou)
Through workshops, researcher mobility and coordinated R&D, the IRN aims to accelerate technological transfer to imaging platforms, strengthen scientific ties, and tackle key challenges in biological imaging on both sides.
