Technology Touching Life is a joint UKRI activity between BBSRC, EPSRC, and MRC to foster interdisciplinary research into innovative, and potentially disruptive, technological capabilities that will drive world-leading basic health and life sciences discovery research. The Integrated Biological Imaging Network (IBIN) is an MRC funded network as part of the TTL initiative. It is also supported by industrial partners – Tocris, Leica, Nikon, Zeiss, RMS, and others. The IBIN’s goal is to identify the current challenges in 3D Bioimaging and foster a network of collaboration between academia and industry to address these challenges. The five challenge areas identified by IBIN members are computation, probe development, super-resolution, 3D bioimaging instrumentation, and 3D biomechanics.

The IBIN is directed by Prof Maddy Parsons, managed by Dr Jake Howden, and is based at Guy’s Campus of King’s College London. The network hosts conferences and workshops that bring together expertise from around the UK and provide the opportunity to build collaborations leading to novel funding applications. The IBIN offers up to £25k for short (up to 6-month) pump-prime projects that address the challenges identified by network members. Projects that arise from new collaborations between academics and industry are favored, and this has led to new connections between researchers and our partners across the UK.

So far, the IBIN has spent over £175k funding 18 pump-prime projects and six sabbaticals as well as workshops, public engagement projects, and other small events. These projects have led to new bioimaging tools and techniques and developed new collaborations across multiple disciplines.