IMSIS international is a global consortium of mass spectrometry imaging researchers originally founded by the European and American mass spectrometry imaging societies. Already into its third year, the society aims to bring together MSI researchers in all fields of science who utilise MSI as a technique for elucidating the spatial distribution of molecules. This includes sharing of methodologies, communication of recent advances and moving to field towards true biological and scientific application and away from pure method development.
The MSI community in Australia is strong with multiple research teams all around the country. Each team have their own specific interests and skills and as such there is a lot that could be learned from one another. We have therefore launched IMSIS Asia Pacific (IMSIS AP) as a Partner society with IMSIS international with the aim of joining together MSI researchers in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea and other Asia-Pacific researchers. The society had its first meeting in November 2024 where it was decided that the society would be a pathway for students and researchers to travel and learn new skills, as well as combining our collective experience into a publicly available knowledgebase that will be launched with support from Australian BioCommons. There has been an excellent response from the MSI community and we intend to continue our efforts to build support, continue to engage with our industry partners and grow the society to put Australia forward as a hive of innovation in MSI. We are inviting all who would like to be part of this new initiative to reach out and get involved with IMSIS AP.