We are always willing to discuss new projects and approach these as scientific collaborations.

Individual projects are often extensions of a first contact at the Image Clinic.

If your task is more complex and we together decide to continue working on it, an Individual Project provides us with the means to proceed. Before initiation, we will agree on a specification, estimation of required time and delivery dates.

What can we do for you?

Our expertise span many domains: we can help you with experimental design and planning, raw image data analysis, statistical data analysis, and of course with publications --- providing the part of the manuscript that covers what we did, setting up data or code repositories and more. We also support grant writing: Our expertise is not limited to image data analysis but includes most potential data sources.

How to initiate a project with us?

Working with us is easy! Please send us an email with an inquiry. We will then set up a date for an initial meeting, where we discuss the nature of your project. After the meeting, we will prepare an initial report containing possible deliverable variants together with estimates of effort required and timelines. Upon agreement, we will start working on the deliverables and provide a final report.

What we need from the user for the initial study

Example data
Discussions to clarify input and output
Concise, written description of the scientific question(s)
Short, written description of the experiments performed/planned
Prioritized list of desired deliverables
Desired dates for initial report and final deliverables

The project work can typically be sub-divided as follows:

First Exploration - mandatory first step in any project, booked as the equivalent of 15 hrs. A report is delivered.
Project work - as agreed with the user after the initial report
Follow-up - due to change in user-request or directly a result of new insights. Only upon prior agreement with the user.

What is covered in the first exploratory study?

Discussions with the user before and after writing the initial report
Exploratory processing and analysis of example data
Search of the technical literature for related work
Writing of initial report with estimate of time needed and listing of deliverables (see below)

What does the initial report contain?

Estimated delivery date
List of possible deliverables
Effort estimate, broken down into sub-categories when possible
Requirements of the input data, e.g. storage & access
Proof of concept results, when possible

Reimbursement for access to IDA staff and infrastructure

Like most other scientists, we consider scientific contributions to be an issue quite separate from that of reimbursement for access. Should you have a different understanding, please let us know before we begin.

For collaborations within the ETH-domain & academia, we can accommodate you at the heavily subsidised rate of 300 CHF/day (40 CHF/hour).
For collaborations with industry partners, we are available at the cost-covering rate of 1'500 CHF/day (200 CHF/hour).

New York Times covers our co-author paper on fungal bidirectionality

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/science/fungus-threat-detection.html