Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Doles Out $17M for Biomedical Imaging

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) wants to bring more engineering expertise to field of biomedical imaging. To do this, the philanthropy group, which was founded by Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, is announced $17 million in funding.

In addition, CZI selected 17 engineers, physicist, mathematicians, computer scientists, and biologists with expertise in technology development.

Biomedical imaging faces tremendous issue. Progress in the imaging field has been slowed by inadequate software and limited sharing of advanced microscopy methods.

“Microscopy is a critical tool that allows researchers to actually see biology and life happen instead of just inferring from disparate data points,” CZI co-founder Priscilla Chan, said in a release. “We need to keep advancing these tools to make big breakthroughs in understanding disease. One of the ways we’re helping to accelerate scientific progress is by creating connections that otherwise wouldn’t have existed— it’s our hope that by bringing together biologists, clinicians, and engineers, we can drive important advances in the field.”

CZI said it issued an open request for applications for the Imaging Scientists program in September of 2018. The recipients represent 17 imaging centers across the U.S., including five medical imaging centers. Here is the full list of CZI Imaging Scientists award recipients.