Advancing Imaging Through Collaborative Projects

Funding Agency:
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Imaging ecosystems are highly fragmented, which slows the spread and adoption of imaging hardware and software technologies, methods, and data. While the quickly growing worldwide imaging community is beginning to collaborate to develop new technologies and resources that can benefit the broader ecosystem, many of these projects are supported by dedicated volunteers and operated without dedicated funding. To broaden the impact of these efforts, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) invites applications for new and existing collaborative projects to reduce imaging ecosystem fragmentation and accelerate the spread and adoption of technologies, methods, or training resources. Project proposals must be submitted by an imaging scientist who is a faculty member (research or tenure track) with at least one Co-PI and no more than ten Co-PIs. “Imaging Scientists” might be engineers, physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists, or biologists who have focused on technology development in either light or electron microscopy, medical imaging, or data analysis fields, or work at the interface of biology, microscopy hardware, and imaging software at an imaging core facility. Cross-institutional applications are strongly encouraged.

Funds can be requested in one or more of the categories below:

  • Validation and dissemination of new imaging technologies: Collaboration between technology developers and imaging scientists to test and validate new imaging systems and/or to adopt new imaging platforms at imaging cores.
  • Building capacity: Developing frameworks (e.g. websites or coordinating organizations) that enable collaborations in the imaging community and online platforms to exchange methods, tools, and protocols. 
  • Training and education: Organizing in-person or online courses on imaging for biomedical researchers and train-the-trainers programs, implementing and adapting new media for training and education, and developing teaching materials or courses for researchers who are starting their careers as imaging scientists.

Deadline: Sep. 8, 2022

Agency Website

Eligibility Requirements

  • Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations; including public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. Grants are not permitted to individuals, only to organizations. For profit organizations are not eligible to apply.
  • Proposals that are currently funded through other CZI RFAs, including the Imaging Scientists grants (cycles 1 and 2) and Expanding Global Access to Bioimaging grants, are eligible to apply to continue as long as the work is distinct.
  • Network Organizations may directly submit applications. Network Organizations are nonprofit organizations that bring together imaging scientists to network and collaborate; share resources, experience, and expertise; and build capacity regionally. 
  • There may be more than one application submitted by each organization.
  • Each application should designate one Principal Investigator (PI) as the Coordinating Principal Investigator (Coordinating PI). The Coordinating PI will act as the administrative contact between CZI and all PIs on the grant (Co-PIs). The Coordinating PI must submit the application on behalf of all PIs. The Coordinating PI must be affiliated with the institution submitting the application, and grant funds will be awarded to that institution, which will take responsibility for distributing funds to any other institutions. Note that institutions outside the U.S. may not subcontract to U.S. institutions, so please be mindful when selecting the Coordinating PI/institution.
  • The Coordinating PI must be an Imaging Scientist. “Imaging Scientists” might be engineers, physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists, or biologists who have focused on technology development in either light or electron microscopy, medical imaging, or data analysis fields, or work at the interface of biology, microscopy hardware, and imaging software at an imaging core facility.
  • Each application should have at least one Co-PI and a maximum of ten Co-PIs.
  • A Co-PI can be at any career stage (for example, a faculty member—both research and tenure track—postdoctoral scientist, staff scientist, and research associate), does not need to be an Imaging Scientist, and must be employed at a domestic or foreign non-profit organization including public or private institution, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. 
  • PI and Co-PIs may be from the same organizations (institutions), however cross-organizational (institutional) projects are highly encouraged.
  • PIs may only serve as the Coordinating PI on one application, but may serve as a Co-PI on applications different from the one they submitted.

Funding Type

Grant

Eligibility

Faculty
Women and minorities encouraged

Category

Curriculum Development
Engineering and Physical Sciences
Environmental & Life Sciences
Interdisciplinary
Medical
Medical - Basic Science

External Deadline

September 8, 2022