BRAINPATH aims to build upon current developments in molecular imaging by creating an academic-industrial training and mobility network for the next revolution of imaging technology. Molecular in vivo imaging is a fertile area which combines expertise, state-of-art equipment and many disciplines and inter-sector work environments. Our goal is to better understand brain diseases and develop new preclinical imaging strategies. We believe optical imaging in particular represents a technology that has the potential to exploit further our knowledge in this area. Our main objective is to train a new generation of medical imaging scientists who, within the next 10-15 years, will bring optical brain imaging to the clinic. Indeed, it is envisaged that in the future optical imaging will be implemented as the fourth clinical modality in conjunction with the three already established clinical imaging techniques of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Molecular in vivo neuro-imaging is rather underdeveloped, with its challenges specific to working on the brain, compared with other organs. Optical imaging can potentially play an important role in the multimodal orchestra together with MRI, PET and CT. Light can be used to measure functional aspects of the brain by either intrinsic monitoring of physiological changes, e.g. fluorescence, absorption, or by external contrast such as the use of fluorescence probes. Importantly, optical imaging is generally non-invasive and the equipment needed for such measurements are of low cost. A final unmet need is to integrate the different imaging modalities so that complementary information can be obtained from each modality. BRAINPATH will address this need and provide novel opportunities for treating important brain diseases. We will exploit this potential through transfer of knowledge between disciplines and sectors through training a next generation of imaging scientists.