Promoting Life Science in Japan through Advanced Bioimaging Support (ABiS)

Abstract

Advanced Bioimaging Support (ABiS) is a project to contribute to the further development of academic research in Japan through the provision of cutting-edge equipment and methodologies to individual KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research) research projects through a network of universities and research institutes that owned and operated multiple types of advanced specialized imaging equipment, with National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS) and National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB) as core institutions. ABiS provides 4 kinds of tailor-made support using advanced imaging equipment for light microscopy, electron microscopy, magnetic resonance imaging, and image data analysis to meet the needs of users. To date, ABiS has supported Grant-in-Aid proposals from researchers from young researchers to senior researchers, and many of them have led to research results. In addition, ABiS holds training courses on four types of support with the aim of disseminating bioimaging technology and fostering young researchers, and participates in the GBI project on behalf of the Japanese bioimaging community to collect information on cutting-edge technologies and discussing common issues worldwide.