European Spatial Biology Center opens doors in Flanders
Spatial biology is the next frontier in life sciences & health – and Flanders stands at the forefront of this emerging field which allows researchers to study cells within their native 2D or 3D context. The region has now even become home to the new, state-of-the-art European Spatial Biology Center. Flanders’ Minister-President Jan Jambon officially opened this advanced spatial biology services center – the first of its kind in Europe – at the Gasthuisberg campus in Leuven during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on 4 May 2022.
Paving the way for breakthroughs
In close collaboration with Leuven University’s Institute for Single Cell Omics (LISCO) and Flanders’ strategic research center for life sciences VIB, the new European Spatial Biology Center (ESBC) is set to provide spatial biology services to the global community at an unprecedented scale and level of precision.
This emerging field makes it possible to study the precise cellular architecture of tissues and organs. It also allows researchers to investigate how cells communicate and cooperate to execute tissue functions, study the orchestration of organ development and disclose crucial processes in disease development. These valuable insights are bound to unravel new mechanisms of homeostasis and disease progression – paving the way for groundbreaking treatments and precision medicine.
Spatial biology at scale, as envisioned by ESBC, will drive many projects and clinical studies. As an emerging field, spatial biology technology can only thrive within a robust life sciences business and research ecosystem. A framework with world-class universities and research centers, innovative start-ups and companies, highly skilled talent, targeted funding and government support. There's no better place in Europe than Flanders to provide these building blocks for success.
Partnering with Flanders’ life sciences ecosystem
ESBC aims to be the world’s leading center for advanced spatial biology analyses and services at scale, as well as for their biomedical and biological applications. By partnering with the unique life sciences ecosystem established by – among others – KU Leuven and VIB in Flanders, ESBC will also promote the development and commercialization of new spatial multi-omics technologies, while encouraging scientific collaborations among research groups and pharma and biotech firms.
In addition to generating new insights from spatial biology (big) data, ESBC is poised to drive metascience projects and clinical studies, scale spatial technologies and boost networking possibilities for academic and industrial partners across the globe.
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Reported by
press release VIB
