We’ve got many news and upcoming events to share with you! Here is a quick rundown.

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Africa-France Joint Initiative for Biological Imaging

We have extended the deadline of our two open calls for projects to support collaborative initiatives between African and French scientists from all fields where biological imaging became essential! You can now submit your project proposal until May 30th, 2023.

In partnership with the African BioImaging Consortium and Imaging Africa, the two calls have been designed to strengthen collaboration between African and French researchers and engineers, with different approaches:

• Call 1) External Access: African user projects that will demonstrate the need for at least one technology and/or expertise available in a FBI core facility or R&D team, that is not readily available on the African continent (up to 5k€)
• Call 2) Twinning Exchange Program: Bilateral exchange of personnel between an imaging facility or a laboratory in Africa and one of its counterparts within the FBI perimeter. This exchange is focused on service activities and practices, training approaches and comparison of needs (up to 4k€)

Submit your project proposal through the France-BioImaging web portal before May 30st, 2023. Successful applicants will be notified by late September 2023 and successful projects should be started before March 2024. 

Applicants are invited to visit our website to discover the range of technologies provided by France-BioImaging Nodes: https://france-bioimaging.org/services/

Applications have to be submitted here: https://france-bioimaging.org/application/africa-france-joint-initiative-for-biological-imaging/

We were at the Euro-BioImaging’s All Hands Nodes Meeting!

France-BioImaging was at the Euro-BioImaging‘s All Hands Nodes Meeting at EMBL in Heidelberg. It was a pleasure to share this unique moment with all the Euro-BioImaging nodes! We had great discussions from passionate people about building the future of the infrastructure and providing open access to high-end technologies and expertise.

This was the perfect time to hear about the latest news and opportunities from every European nodes. Several FBI members were there:

• Caroline Thiriet, our External affairs manager, was a panelist at a discussion about “Funding for national imaging communities”, highlighting the history of France-BioImaging and how the French infrastructure works.
• Perrine Paul-Gilloteaux, Image data mission officer, gave a fantastic talk about “Linking and analyzing correlative image datasets”.
• Fabrice Cordelières, Training mission officer, and Alban Belloir, Communication officer, presented two posters on training and about our infrastructure’s structuring activities.
• Melina Petrel, as an Electron microscopy specialist, represented the FBI core facility staff.

Thanks to all Euro-BioImaging team for organizing and hosting this wonderful event! We are glad to be part of this amazing international community working together as a European Research Infrastructure!

Find further information on Euro-BioImaging’s article: www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/all-hands-nodes-meeting-2023–more-

Using Serial Block-Face Scanning Electron Microscopy to better understand an eye degeneration disease: the AMD

Rémi Le Borgne and Jean-Marc Verbavatz, from ImagoSeine core facility (FBI Paris-Centre node at Institut Jacques Monod), took part in a new study describing melanophages as a disease-progression marker for Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with the help of Serial Block-Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (SBF-SEM).

Age-related macular degeneration affects more than 150 million people worldwide. Blurring central vision, this eye disease progresses over time, usually beginning when people are around their 50s or 60s by causing damage to the macula, in the retina.

AMD is associated with the appearance of hyperreflective foci, with reflectivity comparable to melanocyte-containing RPE cells. Thbs1 and CD47 are both important for the elimination of these cells. In the absence of either of them, melanocyte-containing RPE cells would then accumulate.

Here, SBF-SEM was essential. In the images produced, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) surrounding the melanophages in mice, where CD47 was inhibited, were markedly less pigmented and deformed compared to those where Thbs1 was blocked.

This suggests that melanosomes have been transferred by phagocytosis from the RPE to nearby melanophages because they lack CD47. Finally, authors have shown that CD47 acts as a “don’t eat me” signal.

The SBF-SEM was a great addition to this study where understanding the 3D spatial organization of the structure of interest was key!

You need SBF-SEM or another imaging technology or expertise that France-BioImaging provides? To get open access, please login via Euro-BioImaging website! Users whose projects will be validated by Euro-BioImaging will benefit from a waiver for the access cost on France-BioImaging core facilities!

France - Chili: ECOS call for projects 2023 (all fields)

The objective of the program is to initiate or develop scientific cooperation and relations between research centers and universities of the two countries, through support for joint research projects of excellence, involving the mobility of researchers, (including post-doctoral) by giving priority to training at doctoral level.

The multidisciplinary approach of the project, the emergence of new Franco-Chilean collaborations (thematic and institutional) and the participation of young researchers will be favorably perceived.

Find the text of the call here: CALL ECOS Sud – ANID

Application deadline: May 18, 2023

Registration platform here

For any request for information on this call for projects, you can contact the secretariat of the ECOS Sud committee at the following address: ecos.sud@univ-paris13.fr

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