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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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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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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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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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-01907-x
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