During the foundation phase of the association, several work groups are developing the different aspects of the CZI grant and the main cornerstones of the project. Each work group is led by a steering committee member, with GloBIAS members contributing. Volunteers from across the globe joining the GloBIAS initiative after the survey in 2024 or due to other outreach activities contribute as well. Work groups meetings are arranged at varying time-schedules, depending on need. All workgroups offer an opportunity for asynchronous interaction to aid contributions from all work group members.

Training & Education

lead: Christian Tischer, Beth Cimini

The GloBIAS training and education workgroup organizes and conducts activities to bolster global expertise in bioimage analysis. This group primarily aims to assist professional bioimage analysts in more effectively supporting life scientists with their microscopy data analysis. Current initiatives include establishing a global database of bioimage analysts to aid in organizing regional courses and networking, reviewing existing training materials for bioimage analysis to support the development of future courses, a regular seminar series to help bioimage analysts stay connected and updated on the latest advancements in the field and other activities. Due to its size this group has several subgroups working on the different topics and activities (e.g. GloBIAS Free Help, Data Carpentry BioImage Analysis Curriculum - update with Python) led by volunteers. The main group meets monthly.

Email to: info@globias.org  with subject: [GloBIAS training]

Communications

lead: Paula Sampaio

The communication workgroup plays a pivotal role in the dissemination and outreach efforts of GloBIAS, focusing on activities across various platforms including the Webpage and social media channels. The responsibilities encompass writing engaging content, cultivating online presence, and fostering connections with diverse audiences to amplify GloBIAS's mission and impact. The meeting schedule is about every two weeks. 

Please follow us on:

• LinkedIn

• BlueSky

We are also on GitHub and Zenodo.

Email to: info@globias.org with subject: [GloBIAS communications]

Survey 24

lead: Robert Haase, Agustin Corbat

The survey 2024 was sent out beginning of February and is now closed. We asked 22 questions related to structure, needs and wishes of the community. We plan to use the responses to inform the foundation of the society. The analysis will be done mainly in GitHUB with input from the whole group, and we hope to draw conclusions that will help us to build the society and reflect the community needs. The group has published a preprint of the survey results which you can find here: preprint publication.

Email to: info@globias.org with subject: [GloBIAS survey]

Publications

lead: Kota Miura, Rocco D'Antuono 

The primary aim of the workgroup "Publication" is to publish a textbook based on the workshops organised by GloBIAS, to harness the outcome of interactions as public resources. In addition, the workgroup will continuously promote the publication of academic manuscripts related to bioimage analysis, in various forms such as research papers, survey reports, commentaries, and essays. For these publications, output channels may include journals, web articles, and blog posts. 

Email to: info@globias.org with subject: [GloBIAS publications]

HPC and cloud computing for image analysis

lead: Tatiana Woller (KU Leuven, Belgium), Nicholas Condon (University of Queensland, Australia)

The HPC and cloud computing for image analysis work group aims to bring together the community of researchers using distributed or remote computing tools to discuss training materials, workshop content and best practices. The group meets monthly to showcase workflows & tools, to discuss challenges as well as to compile, plan and create new materials.

Email to: info@globias.org with subject: [GloBIAS HPC and cloud computing]

Foundation & Implementation of the GloBIAS Society

lead: Christa Walther

Beside deciding on the country to establish the association, the group developed the statues and additional governance documents for the society. The structure will be shaped by input from the survey group based on the survey results. After the foundation of the society the group is now working on developing the required infrastructure for membership administration, organise the first General Meeting and considering the different aspects of a business plan, including finding further grant application opportunities. Final point will be the establishment of the Scientific Advisory board as voted for in the first general assembly. So group is also working on finding future external funding for the society.

In general the group is now slowly winding down, with the work taken over by the elected executive board and the soon-to-be established scientific advisory committee.

Email to: info@globias.org with subject: [GloBIAS society implementation]

Workshop 2025 organization

lead: Kota Miura

The workshop 2025 will continue to build the GloBIAS scientific society & community. The in-person event will be in Kobe, Japan from Oct 26, 2025 - Oct 31, 2025 

Venue: Riken BDR, Kobe, Japan

Registration will open in April. We will have travel grants for participants. Please check the workshop pages for more information.

Email to: info@globias.org with subject: [GloBIAS Workshop 2025]

Workshop 2024 organization

lead: Julia Fernandez Rodriguez

The workshop 2024 to start building the GloBIAS scientific society & community in-person was held in Gothenburg from 5. Nov to 8. Nov. 

50 people attended with 12 people being supported by CZI travel grants. 

A final report on the workshop 2024 in Gothenburg can be found in our Zenodo here.

Email to: info@globias.org with subject: [GloBIAS Workshop 2024]