A partnership between leading UK and French research institutions is laying the foundations for a next-generation imaging platform to study infectious diseases. It brings together world-leading molecular and structural biologists with physicists, engineers and software developers to advance bioimaging in order to study the lifecycle of pathogens from a single molecular level to a tissue context, spatially and temporally, to transform our fundamental knowledge of pathogens and their mechanisms of infections. The integration of X-ray imaging, electron microscopy and advanced cellular imaging will generate rich imaging datasets to support advanced computational approaches, including AI-enabled analysis.
Early proof-of-concept studies focussing on parasitic, viral and bacterial systems will establish shared workflows across institutions, and demonstrate imaging under biologically relevant conditions, including containment-level environments, and generate datasets that link cellular structure and function. These methodologies will be designed to be broadly applicable across infectious disease research, including challenges such as antimicrobial resistance.
The partnership combines Oxford’s strengths in high-containment imaging, cryo-electron microscopy and organoid models with the infectious disease and translational expertise of Institut Pasteur and Universite Paris Cite, alongside the advanced synchrotron and imaging capabilities provided by Diamond Light Source and SOLEIL.
The collaboration continues to be shaped through ongoing scientific discussions and engagement across partner institutions. Alongside the pilot studies, the partners are exploring opportunities to expand the platform’s capabilities, strengthen data integration and AI-enabled analysis, and broaden its application across infectious disease research. Initial results and emerging capabilities will be shared through a joint showcase as the programme develops.
UK and French partners advance next-generation imaging platform for pathogen research
3 July 2026
Researchers from the University of Oxford, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cite, Diamond Light Source and SOLEIL Synchrotron are co-developing innovative tools, methods and workflows to provide an integrated view of pathogenesis in order to revolutionise our understanding of host-pathogen interactions at a molecular, cellular and tissue level, and accelerate the development of new therapies.
