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Unveiling the vision: exploring the potential of image analysis in Africa

Nature Methods volume 20, pages 979–981 (2023)Cite this article

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Here we discuss the prospects of bioimage analysis in the context of the African research landscape as well as challenges faced in the development of bioimage analysis in countries on the continent. We also speculate about potential approaches and areas of focus to overcome these challenges and thus build the communities, infrastructure and initiatives that are required to grow image analysis in African research.

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Fig. 1: A 10-year outline to develop image analysis in Africa.

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Acknowledgements

We thank P. French for insightful discussions and A. Koch for thoughtful review of the manuscript. The Advanced Imaging Center at Janelia Research Campus is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The Africa Microscopy Initiative is generously funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Genomics, Helmy Institute for Medical Sciences, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, Egypt

    Mai Atef Rahmoon

  2. Advanced Imaging Center, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, USA

    Mai Atef Rahmoon

  3. School of Biomedical Engineering, Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia

    Gizeaddis Lamesgin Simegn

  4. Department of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda

    Wasswa William

  5. Africa Microscopy Initiative, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Michael A. Reiche

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  1. Mai Atef Rahmoon
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  2. Gizeaddis Lamesgin Simegn
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  3. Wasswa William
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  4. Michael A. Reiche
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Contributions

M. A. Rahmoon, G.L.S., W.W. and M. A. Reiche all contributed to the main idea of the commentary as well as the text. M. A. Rahmoon developed and produced the figure. M. A. Reiche drafted and edited the manuscript. The final manuscript was reviewed and approved by all authors.

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Correspondence to Michael A. Reiche.

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Rahmoon, M.A., Simegn, G.L., William, W. et al. Unveiling the vision: exploring the potential of image analysis in Africa. Nat Methods 20, 979–981 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-01907-x

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