Advancing Infrastructure, Collaboration, and Innovation across the Open-Source UCLA Miniscope Ecosystem

About This Grant

Project Summary The Open-Source UCLA Miniscope Project has become one of the most widely used open-source tools in neuroscience, democratizing access to innovative neural and behavioral imaging technologies. Over the past eight years of active dissemination, more than 800 research groups across at least 18 countries have adopted our tools, enabling groundbreaking research that was previously inaccessible due to technical and financial barriers. Our commitment to open science has not only accelerated discoveries but also enabled a global community of researchers collaborating across diverse disciplines. Building on this success, our proposal seeks to further strengthen and expand the Miniscope ecosystem by enhancing training, documentation, and support. We aim to create a more comprehensive and sustainable framework that improves accessibility, fosters inclusivity, streamlines testing, integrates documentation within development, and addresses key barriers identified during our extensive open-source dissemination efforts. This includes delivering targeted, interactive training and support to empower researchers of varying experience levels to adopt and adapt Miniscope tools confidently. Additionally, we will significantly expand our day-to-day support mechanisms to better serve the large and growing community of users. A key focus of this proposal is to continue expanding our reach to underrepresented groups and resource- limited regions. By implementing targeted dissemination strategies and building partnerships with external organizations, we will conduct annual workshops in low-resource countries and use the Miniscope platform to promote STEM education and research in underserved communities. Through these efforts, we aim to reduce barriers to scientific engagement and enable researchers in areas where resources are limited. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the Miniscope ecosystem, we will establish a flexible framework for integrating new features and technologies developed by both our team and the broader research community. By creating a structured and systematic approach to incorporating advancements, we will maintain the Miniscope platform's cutting-edge relevance and ensure that users can seamlessly benefit from the latest innovations without disruption. Through this initiative, we aim to 1) rebuild foundational practices to enhance dissemination and community engagement, 2) establish a sustainable framework for integrating, disseminating, and supporting new features and technologies, and 3) expand tailored support and training programs for a diverse range of users. Through these efforts, we will provide researchers globally with the support, training, and resources they need to advance neuroscience, fostering new discoveries and accelerating progress in the field.