Overview

UruMex Microscopía 2026-2027 will establish a pilot model for coordinating bioimaging research infrastructures between Mexico and Uruguay. Funded by the Mexico-Uruguay Bilateral Cooperation Fund, we will focus on facilitating collaborative management of imaging datasets, and creating workflow and analysis protocols that integrate, and are compatible with, internationally-agreed open science practices. The project serves as a foundation for scaling these same practices across Latin America.

Why do we need it?

While Latin America boasts high-quality bioimaging facilities and extensive regional networks like Latin America Bioimaging (LABI), our region faces significant structural challenges. These include fragmented institutional frameworks, inconsistent funding, limited trained technical personnel, and early-stage adoption of standardized data management practices.

Drawing inspiration from various successful international and regional infrastructure initiatives, our project addresses these gaps by adopting, adapting, and testing open-science and research data management tools and workflows. Validating these methods in real-world scenarios between the LNMA and UBA will underpin the devolpment a multiscale model and a set of best-practice guidelines suitable for adoption in a regional context.

Developing a technical toolbox is only part of the solution. Currently, an understanding of the long-term importance and return-on-investment of open-science data practices is mostly absent across multiple levels in our region, from individual researchers and technology service providers to institutional leadership. Addressing this, our project also incorporates a consultative educational approach. By demonstrating tangible benefits and lowering the energy barrier to adopting these practices, our initiative aims to drive broader transnational scientific collaboration and make this operational model attractive for other centers of excellence in the region to adopt.

What are we going to do?

The overall goal is to create a pilot model that serves as a blueprint for a Latin American network. The specific objectives are to:

• Strengthen the technical and operational capacities of the LNMA (Mexico) and UBA (Uruguay) through training and personnel exchanges.

• Develop and implement protocols for the acquisition and management of data adhering to FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).

• ​Design a scalable bioimaging "node" model and promote its expansion to other countries in the region.

Open science... FAIR data... Research Data Management... What are they and why are they important?

What activities are we going to organise?

The project is divided into three main operational phases:

• Mapping current capacities, data management practices, and technical gaps at both LNMA and UBA, as well as surveying the broader Latin American bioimaging community.

• Hosting an international workshop in Montevideo (June 2026) with global experts to define FAIR data protocols, followed by the pilot implementation of a virtual data management platform.

• Conducting a validation workshop in Mexico (2027) with regional partners to refine the scalable node model, preparing it for wider adoption.

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What are the expected outcomes?

By the end of the 24-month project, the collaboration will deliver:

• A FAIR data management platform utilized by both LNMA and UBA.

• A published, scalable operational blueprint (the "node model") for bioimaging infrastructures.

• Formal letters of intent or collaboration agreements from at least three other Latin American countries to integrate into the future regional network.