FoundingGIDE 2025: Uniting to establish a global image data ecosystem

The FoundingGIDE Community Event 2025 was held in Brisbane on 17–18 October, co-hosted by the National Imaging Facility (NIF), Microscopy Australia and Euro-Bioimaging.

The event brought together experts from Australia and around the world to discuss progress and challenges in imaging data interoperability.

FoundingGIDE (Founding a Global Image Data Ecosystem) is an international initiative funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe program that aims to enhance the interoperability of biological and preclinical image data resources through global coordination of technical developments. By bringing together research infrastructures, data repositories, and community partners from Europe, Australia, Japan, and beyond, FoundingGIDE works to establish common standards for metadata and ontologies, enabling efficient data management, sharing, and reuse across the global imaging community.

Across two days, participants heard from representatives from leading imaging initiatives, research organisations, and infrastructure providers around the world, including opening presentations by Hilary Hanahoe, Secretary General, Research Data Alliance and Prof. Tomomi Shimogori, Riken Center for Brain Science. Sessions covered topics such as harmonising metadata, building scalable infrastructure, and fostering collaboration across disciplines and modalities. Workshops provided opportunities for hands-on engagement with technical and community-driven solutions.

Microscopy Australia and NIF‘s CEOs, Dr Lisa Yen and Prof. Wojtek Goscinski, played an active role in the program, including chairing sessions and contributing to working groups focused on shaping the future of the Global Image Data Ecosystem (GIDE).

The event highlighted the importance of international cooperation and shared standards in advancing open and interoperable imaging data. Planning is already underway for the next FoundingGIDE Community Event, scheduled for May 2026 at EMBL Heidelberg.

The event was made possible through the generous support of its funders, participating organisations, and sponsors, including QCIF, AARNet, and Intersect.