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 03.03.2026

IRB Barcelona helps strengthen Spain’s role in advanced bioimaging in Europe

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona (IRB Barcelona), headquartered at the Barcelona Science Park, is strengthening Spain’s role within the European advanced bioimaging infrastructure Euro-BioImaging ERIC, a distributed European research infrastructure offering advanced imaging for biomedical, biological, preclinical, and clinical studies. The Spanish node, Euro-BioImaging Spain, provides open access to state-of-the-art imaging technologies and specialized expertise, thereby fostering international collaboration and expanding opportunities for researchers across the country.

Within this new framework, the Advanced Digital Microscopy Facility at IRB Barcelona plays a key role, reflecting the Institute’s strong commitment to excellence in imaging services and to reinforcing Spain’s position within the European bioimaging community. Led by Julien Colombelli, the facility contributes to Euro-BioImaging Spain through two Access Nodes: the Barcelona Mesoscopic Imaging Node and the Barcelona Live and Intravital Imaging Node. Through these nodes, IRB Barcelona offers cutting-edge imaging technologies and expert support, enabling researchers to address complex biological questions—from large-scale tissue analysis to dynamic live and intravital microscopy.

“At IRB Barcelona, we contribute to Euro-BioImaging Spain through two nodes that allow us to provide open access to advanced imaging technologies. These nodes link IRB Barcelona with the University of Barcelona and the CRG on the one hand, and with ICFO on the other, reflecting how collaboration between institutions is essential to make top-level research infrastructures available to the scientific community,” says Julien Colombelli, Head of the Advanced Digital Microscopy Facility at IRB Barcelona.

The Euro-BioImaging Spain Kick-off Meeting, held on 20 February at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (Barcelona), formally introduced this coordinated national structure. Conceived not only as a scientific meeting but also as a strategic milestone, the event brought together imaging nodes, core facilities, researchers, and technology developers to define the framework for national coordination and outline future directions.

The meeting also highlighted the added value of Spain’s participation in Euro-BioImaging, underlining how the infrastructure benefits both users and facilities through harmonised standards, advanced training, technology exchange, and integration into a strong international network.

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