Norwegian Molecular Imaging Consortium - Bergen

The present-day Molecular Imaging Center in Bergen (MIC) is an open facility that offers a collection of state-of-the-art microscopy equipment and image processing tools. MIC initiated its services in 2003 and was set up as a cooperation between NTNU in T rondheim and the University of Bergen to improve the imaging technology and cooperation between users and to support scientists in Norway and visitors from abroad. In entering the FUGE-2 MIC will broaden the collaboration with NTNU to include also other imaging units across Norway. Thus, the national collaboration is expanded by including 3 new institutions; Universitetet i Oslo, Universitetet i Tromsø and Universitetet i Stavanger. The parties intend to join as region-based nodes in a Norwegian Molecula r Imaging Consortium (Nor-MIC), building on the progress of MIC during FUGE-1. The coordinator responsibility will be placed at MIC-Bergen. Establishing this national consortium will ensure accessability for academic researchers and external users/custome rs to the facilities in the network. At the same time coordinated collaboration will strengthen Norwegian research institutions ability to take part in front-line development and dissemination of new technologies, e.g high-content screening technologies, automated microscopy and task management. Training and development of basic and advanced courses will benefit from the national collaboration between specialised nodes within the consortium. The main contributions from Bergen will be in areas towards d evelopment of high throughput microscopy, joint establishment with PROBE of organelle proteomics-based imaging, correlative microscopy, in vivo optical imaging and quantitative image analysis.