On June 9^th, the Finnish Biomedical Imaging Node organized a virtual Grand Opening Seminar to introduce its people, operations, and facilities to the imaging community. The seminar was open to the public and attracted about 70 imaging enthusiasts to participate.

The event started with an opening presentation by Professor John Eriksson, Director General of Euro-BioImaging, in which he provided delightful insight into Euro-BioImaging infrastructure and its major benefits to life-science researchers. It was followed by a virtual tour in the four Node sites where the multifaceted in vivo imaging opportunities and various applications were vividly introduced by the facility heads.

The event culminated with a panel discussion where the Finnish key in vivo imaging experts, Professor Juhani Knuuti (Turku PET Centre; University of Turku), Professor Riitta Salmelin (Aalto NeuroImaging; Aalto University), Professor Olli Gröhn (Kuopio Biomedical Imaging Unit; University of Eastern Finland), and Associate Professor Pipsa Saharinen (Helsinki In vivo Animal Imaging Platform; University of Helsinki) shared their perspectives on the importance of the Finnish Biomedical Imaging Node within the biomedical research landscape and described how to actually access the Node services. During the discussion, the panellists visioned the future of biomedical imaging research and were excited about the new position Finland now has in the European imaging scene.

“The Opening Seminar was a success, and we warmly thank all the participants for spending their afternoon with us!” says Tiina Saanijoki, the Node Manager of the Finnish Biomedical Imaging Node.