Image analysis is becoming increasingly important in the biosciences [1]. There is now a clear need for a trained and better-organised community of image analysts who will support this growth [2, 3]. The NEUBIAS network is a relatively new initiative, setup to help address these issues on a EU and, increasingly, international level. Presently, there is very little activity nationally in the UK that complements this work of supporting image analysis. At a recent meeting of the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) council, the importance of image analysis for microscopy was discussed. The RMS were very keen to assist in the formation and activity of a Focused Interest Group (FIG) whose role would be to develop and support the image analysis community in the UK. To this end, following several successful meetings and discussions, the Image Analysis Focused Interest Group of the RMS (IAFIG-RMS) was formed. The goal of the IAFIG-RMS will be to support and develop the Image Analysis community in the UK and the application of this science to the field of microscopy in all its forms. In the first instance, Dr. Dominic Waithe will act as chair for the proposed group having being nominated by Mr. Alex Sossick and confirmed by Dr. Lucy Collinson, both section chairs of the RMS.
