Advanced Microscopy Facility Micrograph of the Year Competition

One of the highlights of every year at the Advanced Microscopy Facility is the Micrograph of the Year Competition. This competition is open to all Bosch members and registered users of the Facility. In 2008, the competition was judged by Assoc. Prof. Cedric Shorey. Assoc. Prof. Shorey was astounded by the high standard of images submitted for the competition. Almost 60 images were received illustrating a wide variety of biological samples, cell and tissue preparation methods and both light and laser microscope techniques. The Top 20 micrographs were mounted and displayed in the Anderson Stuart Common Room during the week of the Bosch Young Investigators (BYI) Symposium in December 2008.

At the conclusion of the BYI Symposium, the Top 5 winners (images shown below) were presented with fabulous prizes that were generously donated by the Bosch Institute, Carl Zeiss, Nikon and Coherent Scientific, Olympus Australia and Perkin Elmer. Well done to all who entered the Competition!

From left to right: First Prize: Yan Li (Human Reproduction Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital) Fertilization Point: Mouse 1-cell embryo double-stained for nuclear DNA (Propidium Iodide, red) and methylated 5-cytidine in DNA (FITC. green). It shows the time of fertilization when a sperm first attaches to the surface of the oocyte. This triggers the second meiotic division. It also shows differential DNA methylation in each set of chromosomes. Second prizes: Nick Whitehead (Physiology, Bosch Institute) Image shows one of the NADPH oxidase proteins, p22phox (green), which co-localises with Caveolin-3 (red) along the muscle fibre surface membrane of an mdx mouse. Nuclei are identified by DAPI staining (blue). Andrea Markus (Basic & Clinical Genomics Lab, Physiology, Bosch Institute) Image shows co-localization of the RNA binding protein RBM4 (red) with gamma-tubulin (green) in the centrosomes of HEK293 cells during mitosis. Cell nuclei are stained with DAPI (blue). Erica Jeong (Anatomy, Bosch Institute) Image shows a 4-day old in vitro cultured cell from tectal tissues of 7-day old chick embryos. Cells were stained with total Tau antibody (red), phalloidin (green) and DAPI (blue). Third prize: Hyunchul Lee (Physiology) A medium-spiny projection neuron in the mouse caudate-putamen was filled with neurobiotin using a patch-pipette and visualized using cobalt chloride and diaminobenzidine. These cells reach out with their multiple spiny arbors to gather valuable information arriving from the cortex, sending their own message via long axons to the globus pallidus (pale globe) and the dopamine-secreting subtantia nigra (black substance).

Some of the winners: From left to right; Top 20 images on display. Andrea Markus checking out the competition! Nick Whitehead (middle) receives his prize from Assoc. Prof Cedric Shorey and Sue Hart (Carl Zeiss). Erica Jeong receives her prize from Assoc. Prof. Cedric Shorey and Sophie Tran (Nikon/Coherent Scientific).