# Center for Open Bioimage Analysis

> **NIH NIH P41** · BROAD INSTITUTE, INC. · 2020 · $230,570

## Abstract

Project Summary
 The Center for Open Bioimage Analysis will serve the cell biology community’s growing need for
sophisticated software for light microscopy image analysis. Quantitative image analysis has become an
indispensable tool for biologists using microscopy throughout basic biological and biomedical research.
 Quantifying images is now a critical, widespread need as imaging experiments continue to grow in scale,
size, dimensionality, scope, modality, and complexity. Many biologists are missing out on the quantitative
bioimaging revolution due to lack of effective algorithms and/or usable software for their needs, or lack of
access to training. The Center brings together the Carpenter laboratory at the Broad Institute and the Eliceiri
laboratory at the University of Wisconsin­Madison, and in doing so brings together the two most popular open
source bioimage analysis projects, ImageJ (including ImageJ2 and FIJI) and CellProfiler. Through the
collaborative development and dissemination of open source image analysis software, as well as training
events and resources, the Center will empower thousands of researchers to apply advanced analytics in
innovative ways to address new experimental areas.
 Building on the team’s expertise developing algorithms and user­friendly software for use in biology under
real­world conditions, the Center will focus on two Technology Research and Development (TR&D) projects:
deep learning­based image processing, and accessibility of image­processing algorithms for biologists. This
work will not occur in isolation at the Center; rather, the Center will nucleate a larger community working on
these two areas and serve as a catalyst and organizing force to create software and resources shared by all.
 The Driving Biological Projects (DBPs) will serve a major role in driving the TR&D work: our teams are
accustomed to working deeply and iteratively on problems side by side and with frequent feedback from
biologists. This will ensure that important cell biological problems drive the work of the Center. The DBPs
reflect tremendous variety in terms of biological questions, model systems, imaging modalities, and researcher
expertise and will ensure robustness of our tools for the widest possible impact on the community. Continuing
the teams’ track record with ImageJ and CellProfiler, two mature open source bioimage analysis software
projects critical to the work of biologists worldwide, the Center will also assist and train biologists in applying
the latest computational techniques to important biological problems involving images.
 In short, the need for robust, accurate, and readily usable software is more urgent than ever. The Center for
Open Bioimage Analysis will serve as a hub for pioneering new computational strategies for diverse biological
problems, translating them into user­friendly software, further developing ImageJ and CellProfiler, and training
the biological community to apply advanced software to important ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9855771
- **Project number:** 1P41GM135019-01
- **Recipient organization:** BROAD INSTITUTE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Anne E. Carpenter
- **Activity code:** P41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $230,570
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9855771

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9855771, Center for Open Bioimage Analysis (1P41GM135019-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9855771. Licensed CC0.

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