Designing for Discovery: Shaping Imageomics Tools for Biologists
A hands-on workshop at the first Imageomics Conference, hosted by the Imageomics Institute.
- Dates: April 16 (1:00–5:00 PM) & April 17 (8:00 AM–1:00 PM), 2026
- Location: Energy Advancement and Innovation Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
About
The Imageomics Institute has built a powerful suite of open-source tools for image-based biological research. This workshop is dedicated to bridging the gap between these computational tools and biological discovery. By partnering directly with biologists across all career stages, we aim to pressure-test existing workflows, uncover novel applications, and ensure these tools are as intuitive as they are innovative.
Tutorials
Each tutorial walks through a specific Imageomics tool, from setup to hands-on use with example data.
Classification
| Tutorial | Description |
|---|---|
| pybioclip | Classify focal species and generate image embeddings programmatically using BioCLIP models without complex ML infrastructure. |
Image Embedding Exploration
| Tutorial | Description |
|---|---|
| Image Embedding Explorer | Explore image embeddings interactively—try different models, projections, and see which images cluster together or apart. |
Segmentation & Known Trait Extraction
| Tutorial | Description |
|---|---|
| SST | Segment traits from specimen images and apply automatic landmarking. |
Interpretability
| Tutorial | Description |
|---|---|
| Prompt-CAM | Explore fine-grained trait distinctions between different specified species. |
| Finer-CAM | Better understand discriminative traits between similar species. |
Similarity Search & Discovery
| Tutorial | Description |
|---|---|
| BioCLIP Search Lite | Given a query image, find the most visually similar organisms across 200M+ samples from the TreeofLife dataset. |
| SAE | Discover what traits are common among organisms across a collection of images. |
Workshop Structure
- Day 1 (Thursday, April 16): Live demonstrations and guided tutorials. Open to all Imageomics Conference participants.
- Day 2 (Friday, April 17): Interactive, hands-on deep dive with a smaller group. Participants work with their own data and use cases.
Workshop Cloud Compute with CyVerse
To take advantage of shared compute resources that you may use during the course of the workshop, please register for a CyVerse account and enroll in the CyVerse workshop dedicated to the tutorial tools:
https://user.cyverse.org/workshops/210
If you register for CyVerse using the same email address you used to register for the Imageomics Conference, your enrollment into the CyVerse workshop should be automatic once you create your account. Otherwise, please submit an enrollment request, and access will be granted promptly.
Instructions for using CyVerse will be shared during the workshop and in the tool tutorial resources.
Acknowledgments
The Imageomics Institute is supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2118240. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.