ELMI - 1st Meeting at EMBL

The first ELMI meeting was recently held at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg. During the discussion, the following points were raised:

• It was generally agreed that the formation of a network would lead to faster exchange of information, inrease problem-solving abilities, raise awareness of light microscopy in Europe and be a means of securing future funding.
  
  
• The network should begin with the current participants, but other specifically chosen people should be invited to join at a later date to increase the breadth and strengths of the group. In particular, it was felt that the large manufacturers should be represented and Viki Allan also suggested Justin Molloy from York who has expertise in optical tweezers.
  
  
• The network will be named ELMI: The European Light Microscopy Initiative
  
  

• A common web page will be set up by Rainer Pepperkok, Tommy Nilsson, Benny Geiger, Viki Allan, Jan de Mey and Patrick Schwarb.
  
  
• A database of techniques available at the different institutes involved in the network should be included in the website.
  
  
• The network will aim for an annual meeting.
  
  
  
  

• The primary long-term goal of the network will be to create national centres to provide local access and training in light microscopy techniques.
  
  
• Each centre should not completely duplicate another and should have some speciality which makes each institute unique and attractive to visitors.
  
  
• A proportion of the capacity at each of these centres should be reserved to serve national interests and to house visitors from the network wishing to use a unique instrument.
  
  
• It was suggested that rather than each of the institutes involved in the network becoming such a ‘centre’, possibly just three or four could serve such a purpose. In particular, Viki Allan and Jeremy Tavare felt that their institutes were running at full capacity and could not accommodate additional visitors without a large injection of funding. Also, it was felt that industry may be more inclined to fund a smaller number of unique centres.

• In the short-term, only a small degree of investment should be required in order to form and develop the network. This ought to be achieved through national sources and industry.
  
  
• Provided there is little duplication between institutes, industry should still co-operate in placing machines as the visibility of their product will be high. Martin Detje also pointed out that industry would be more likely to fund training in one larger, designated centre.
  
  
• ESF and the EU were mentioned as possible sources of funding for a future meeting of the network provided the website is in place.
  
  
• Once the network has been established and can demonstrate its value, then lobbying of the EU could take place to secure major funding for the future.