The Bioimaging Technology Development Awards is a funding opportunity that aims to support teams of technology developers and users in creating innovative bioimaging tools at the cell-tissue scale. This funding call is specifically designed to encourage the development of technologies that can address ambitious research questions or overcome barriers to bioimaging work in low-resource settings.
The call seeks to support proficient and diverse teams who are capable of leading ambitious technology development programs. The awarded teams will be tasked with developing tools and technologies that can overcome barriers to progress in bioimaging, particularly in investigating biological phenomena at the cell-tissue scale.
The potential areas of interest for this award include, but are not limited to:
1. Cell atlasing: Exploring how novel bioimaging technologies, combined with other omics, can help identify all cell types at the molecular level.
2. Connectomics: Investigating how novel bioimaging technologies can pave the way for a comprehensive map of neuronal connections in the mammalian brain.
3. Dynamic biology: Advancing technologies to improve temporal resolution in bioimaging, enhancing our understanding of how organisms function, adapt, and respond to their surroundings.
4. Systems: Developing bioimaging technologies that enable the characterization of dynamics and structure of complete biological systems.
5. Imaging data handling: Exploring novel data management strategies to simplify image acquisition, analysis, and data sharing, as well as integrating bioimaging data with other types of biological information.
6. Overcoming barriers in low-resource settings: Adapting novel or existing technologies to advance discovery research in low-resource settings.
To ensure the best outcomes, the selection criteria for teams will prioritize collaborations between technology developers and researchers using bioimaging technologies to answer important discovery research questions. The teams must aim to make a significant contribution to the field of bioimaging by either advancing the current state-of-the-art standards or significantly lowering barriers in low-resource settings.
The Bioimaging Technology Development Awards will be conducted in two phases:
1. Foundation phase: Successful applicants will receive funding for 1.5 years.
2. Scale-up phase: After 12 months into the foundation phase, funded programs will have the opportunity to apply for the scale-up phase in a closed competitive funding call. Successful programs in the scale-up phase can request support for up to an additional 6.5 years.
This funding opportunity is open to researchers leading a research program based in the UK, Republic of Ireland, low- or middle-income countries (excluding India and mainland China). The level of funding for the foundation phase is up to £500k, while the scale-up phase allows teams to request the necessary resources for their program. The total duration of funding can span up to 8 years, with the foundation phase lasting 18 months and the scale-up phase extending for a maximum of 6.5 additional years.
Apply by 30th April 2024
For more information and application details, please visit the Bioimaging Technology Development Awards page on the Wellcome Trust website. https://wellcome.org/grant-funding/schemes/bioimaging-technology-development-awards#about-this-call-016f