Today Biophotonics is an emerging multidisciplinary research area, embracing all light-based technologies applied to the life sciences and medicine. Enhancing diagnosis, therapy and follow-up care, Biophotonics drives the trend towards personalized medicine and plays a crucial role in limiting health-care costs and appropriately addressing the accelerating challenges associated with population aging and the consequent increase in age-related diseases. Its economic and socio-political importance is reflected in the enormous annual growth rates of industries in this field.As a Network of Excellence, PHOTONICS4LIFE aims to provide a coherent framework for research in the strongly fragmented field of Biophotonics in Europe. One of the challenging tasks of PHOTONICS4LIFE is therefore to map and to overview the research and technological developments across these various subdisciplines with their manifold but not sufficiently explored interdependences.PHOTONICS4LIFE targets to bridge the gaps between the different research communities ranging from Physics and Engineering via Chemistry and Physical Chemistry to Biology and Medicine for the analysis of cell processes, for non- and minimally-invasive diagnosis and therapy and for point-of-care diagnostics.PHOTONICS4LIFE aims to link the expertise of research institutes towards the SME's and large companies in order to foster Biophotonics research and to strengthen the economical competitiveness of Europe in the global Biophotonics market.PHOTONICS4LIFE is composed of partners standing on the forefront of Biophotonics research and covering together the broadness of fields including the related ethical issues. The partners will work towards a durable integration, provide a critical mass that will act as a nucleus for integrated fundamental and applied Biophotonics research across Europe and reach out to the international scene. With its objectives, PHOTONICS4LIFE is aimed directly at improving the quality of life.