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LMA and VIA Image Competition - 2023
We are pleased to announce the winners of the LMA/VIA 2023 Image Competition.
This year we received over 80 submissions across the six categories: Life Sciences, In Vivo Imaging, Live Cell Imaging, Materials Sciences, Super Resolution and Volume Imaging.
Each category awards a $400 first prize and a $200 second prize.
We would like to thank the sponsors of each category, New Spec, Zeiss Australia, Coherent Scientific, Lastek and Klein Scientific for their support of the competition
Live Cell Category
1st Prize
Michael Murrey, University of Western Australia
Macrophage Matrix Degradation. Timelapse imaging of mouse bone marrow macrophages (& a handful of fibroblasts) expressing Lifeact GFP, cultured on Cy-3 Labelled gelatin. Lifeact Gfp is cyan, Cy3 labelled gelatin is Magenta and DIC imaging is grey.
Macrophage Matrix Degradation. Timelapse imaging of mouse bone marrow macrophages (& a handful of fibroblasts) expressing Lifeact GFP, cultured on Cy-3 Labelled gelatin. Lifeact Gfp is cyan, Cy3 labelled gelatin is Magenta and DIC imaging is grey.
2nd Prize
Hongbin Jin, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute
Development of Zebrafish monozygotic twins embryo.
Monozygotic twin embryo in Zebrafish, induced by ENU mutagenesis, exhibited two distinct groups of blastomeres on a single embryonic yolk, whereas in a wild-type normal Zebrafish embryo, there should typically be only one group of blastomeres. These twin blastomeres underwent cell cleavage and epiboly independently, ultimately forming conjoined twins. The observation was made under the bright-field of Nikon microscope from 8-cell stage to bud stage for 12 hours without any staining.
Development of Zebrafish monozygotic twins embryo.
Monozygotic twin embryo in Zebrafish, induced by ENU mutagenesis, exhibited two distinct groups of blastomeres on a single embryonic yolk, whereas in a wild-type normal Zebrafish embryo, there should typically be only one group of blastomeres. These twin blastomeres underwent cell cleavage and epiboly independently, ultimately forming conjoined twins. The observation was made under the bright-field of Nikon microscope from 8-cell stage to bud stage for 12 hours without any staining.
Distinction
Zahied Johan, Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology and University of South Australia
Focal adhesion dynamic.
A time-lapse of fibroblasts moving on collagen matrix. Mouse dermal fibroblasts were transfected with Paxillin-eGFP plasmids and the cells were imaged for 2 hours using Leica SP8 at 63x objective.
Focal adhesion dynamic.
A time-lapse of fibroblasts moving on collagen matrix. Mouse dermal fibroblasts were transfected with Paxillin-eGFP plasmids and the cells were imaged for 2 hours using Leica SP8 at 63x objective.
Life Science Category
1st Prize
Melanie White, IMB at University of Queensland
Vasculature in a developing transgenic quail embryo.
A transgenic quail embryo expressing LifeAct-EGFP was imaged live with an intact yolk and yolk sac in a dish.
Vasculature in a developing transgenic quail embryo.
A transgenic quail embryo expressing LifeAct-EGFP was imaged live with an intact yolk and yolk sac in a dish.
2nd Prize
David Collings, Research School of Biology, Australian National University
Dendrobium speciosum.
Roots from Dendrobium speciosum, the rock orchid found along much of Australia’s eastern seaboard, were fixed in formaldehyde / PBS and longitudinal sections cut by hand. After clearing, secondary cell walls containing the cross-linker lignin were stained with basic fuchsin. The living cells of the root cortex (left) contained a broad network of secondary wall thickenings whereas outside the exodermis (central band), dead cells of the velamen (right) showed a fine network of wall thickenings. The functions of these different secondary walls, and the way in which the different secondary wall patterns are generated by the cells, remain poorly studied.
Dendrobium speciosum.
Roots from Dendrobium speciosum, the rock orchid found along much of Australia’s eastern seaboard, were fixed in formaldehyde / PBS and longitudinal sections cut by hand. After clearing, secondary cell walls containing the cross-linker lignin were stained with basic fuchsin. The living cells of the root cortex (left) contained a broad network of secondary wall thickenings whereas outside the exodermis (central band), dead cells of the velamen (right) showed a fine network of wall thickenings. The functions of these different secondary walls, and the way in which the different secondary wall patterns are generated by the cells, remain poorly studied.
Distinction
Claire Richards, University of Technology Sydney
One organoid donut please.
Placental organoids were generated by bioprinting trophoblast cells into a synthetic hydrogel using a RASTRUM bioprinter and maintained for 12 days. Organoids were harvested, fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, dehydrated by tissue processing and paraffin-embedded for microtome sectioning. Sections were made at 5um thickness, transferred to slides and immunolabelled for cell adhesion protein E-cadherin (cyan hot) and counterstained with DAPI to visualise nuclei (orange hot).
One organoid donut please.
Placental organoids were generated by bioprinting trophoblast cells into a synthetic hydrogel using a RASTRUM bioprinter and maintained for 12 days. Organoids were harvested, fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, dehydrated by tissue processing and paraffin-embedded for microtome sectioning. Sections were made at 5um thickness, transferred to slides and immunolabelled for cell adhesion protein E-cadherin (cyan hot) and counterstained with DAPI to visualise nuclei (orange hot).
Distinction
Rosie Coleman, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute
Sweet as Artificial Sugar.
This image depicts a 3D cultured, murine small intestinal organoid exposed to the artificial sweetener, Equal. Organoids were fixed and immuno-labelled for Ki67, a cellular proliferation marker (Pink) and Epcam, a marker of epithelial cells (Multi-colour). Organoids were imaged in free suspension on a Zeiss LSM 880 Fast Airyscan Confocal Microscope. Image z-stacks were processed into a flat image using Image -J. The Epcam z-stacks were colour coded in Image J with the Zstack Depth Color Code plugin (using the “Fire” LUT) to help illustrate the 3D nature of the organoid in 2D. Colour was optimised with Adobe Photoshop.
Sweet as Artificial Sugar.
This image depicts a 3D cultured, murine small intestinal organoid exposed to the artificial sweetener, Equal. Organoids were fixed and immuno-labelled for Ki67, a cellular proliferation marker (Pink) and Epcam, a marker of epithelial cells (Multi-colour). Organoids were imaged in free suspension on a Zeiss LSM 880 Fast Airyscan Confocal Microscope. Image z-stacks were processed into a flat image using Image -J. The Epcam z-stacks were colour coded in Image J with the Zstack Depth Color Code plugin (using the “Fire” LUT) to help illustrate the 3D nature of the organoid in 2D. Colour was optimised with Adobe Photoshop.
In Vivo Category
1st Prize
Adam Vogrin, RMIT
Red silky oak flower bud (Grevillea banksii).
Red silky oak (Grevillea banksii) whole flower bud. Multiphoton microscopy image using natural autofluorescence. 2×1 image stitch of z-stack maximum intensity projections.
Red silky oak flower bud (Grevillea banksii).
Red silky oak (Grevillea banksii) whole flower bud. Multiphoton microscopy image using natural autofluorescence. 2×1 image stitch of z-stack maximum intensity projections.
2nd Prize
Julie Moreau, BDI Monash University
A developing mouse kidney.
Culture of embryonic kidney at E12.5 imaged on a spinning Disk for 24h. Zoom in of a nephrogenic niche where all the cells express Tomato at their membrane (gray) and some nephron progenitors express GFP (magenta). We can see the nephron progenitors moving around the Ureteric tip (organised epithelial structure).
A developing mouse kidney.
Culture of embryonic kidney at E12.5 imaged on a spinning Disk for 24h. Zoom in of a nephrogenic niche where all the cells express Tomato at their membrane (gray) and some nephron progenitors express GFP (magenta). We can see the nephron progenitors moving around the Ureteric tip (organised epithelial structure).
Distinction
Ryan Brown, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Never swim when lightning strikes.
The tail and fin of a 21-day old zebrafish imaged on the Zeiss Elyra 780 Confocal microscope showing the arteries and veins in gold alongside the lymphatics in cyan. The positioning function was used in to capture various points along the tail and stitching was done in FIJI and Adobe illustrator to generate the final image. Imaging fish at this age and size requires precise mounting to minimize large variations in z-position and to allow prolonged survival of the larval fish while sedated as imaging large portions of the trunk can take hours.
Never swim when lightning strikes.
The tail and fin of a 21-day old zebrafish imaged on the Zeiss Elyra 780 Confocal microscope showing the arteries and veins in gold alongside the lymphatics in cyan. The positioning function was used in to capture various points along the tail and stitching was done in FIJI and Adobe illustrator to generate the final image. Imaging fish at this age and size requires precise mounting to minimize large variations in z-position and to allow prolonged survival of the larval fish while sedated as imaging large portions of the trunk can take hours.
Materials Science
1st Prize
Marco A. Acevedo Zamora, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at QUT
Optic-axis orientation quiver map of olivine in harzburgite.
The montage (5.32×4.37 mm) shows the olivine slow-axis orientation map in a harzburgite from the Earth’s mantle that has crystal preferred orientation related to tectonic deformation. The map was obtained after object-based image segmentation and classification streamlined with automatic interference colour estimation in every grain (with my new algorithm). This is the first time such map has been produced, regardless of the target thickness and without requiring scanning electron microscopy EBSD.
Optic-axis orientation quiver map of olivine in harzburgite.
The montage (5.32×4.37 mm) shows the olivine slow-axis orientation map in a harzburgite from the Earth’s mantle that has crystal preferred orientation related to tectonic deformation. The map was obtained after object-based image segmentation and classification streamlined with automatic interference colour estimation in every grain (with my new algorithm). This is the first time such map has been produced, regardless of the target thickness and without requiring scanning electron microscopy EBSD.
Super Resolution
1st Place
Edward Buckley, Centre for Cancer Biology, University of South Australia
Caught Red-Handed.
Co-culture of mouse M1-bone marrow-derived macrophage (red, probed for F4/80) and PyMT cell line (green, probed for CK8/CK14) to detect macrophage-mediated cancer cell phagocytosis. Cells on coverslips were saponin permeabilised and FBS blocked
Caught Red-Handed.
Co-culture of mouse M1-bone marrow-derived macrophage (red, probed for F4/80) and PyMT cell line (green, probed for CK8/CK14) to detect macrophage-mediated cancer cell phagocytosis. Cells on coverslips were saponin permeabilised and FBS blocked
2nd Prize
Esther Miriiklis, Monash University
Components of stem cell nuclei.
A 2D section through the centre of two human pluripotent stem cell nuclei. Nuclear DNA (sepia/brown) is evenly distributed throughout the nucleus, whereas Lamin B1 (magenta) is restricted to the nuclear periphery and provides structural integrity to the nucleus. DNA was labelled with EdU for 24 hrs before covalently attaching Alexa Fluor 532 via an alkyne-azide click reaction. Lamin B1 was immunolabelled with Alexa Fluor 647. The image was captured via sequential dSTORM on a bespoke single molecule microscope setup built around an Olympus IX81 and rendered in rapidSTORM with a final pixel size of 20 nm.
Components of stem cell nuclei.
A 2D section through the centre of two human pluripotent stem cell nuclei. Nuclear DNA (sepia/brown) is evenly distributed throughout the nucleus, whereas Lamin B1 (magenta) is restricted to the nuclear periphery and provides structural integrity to the nucleus. DNA was labelled with EdU for 24 hrs before covalently attaching Alexa Fluor 532 via an alkyne-azide click reaction. Lamin B1 was immunolabelled with Alexa Fluor 647. The image was captured via sequential dSTORM on a bespoke single molecule microscope setup built around an Olympus IX81 and rendered in rapidSTORM with a final pixel size of 20 nm.
Distinction
Stacey Keenan, The University of Melbourne
Smiling cell-fie.
Super resolution Airyscan image depicting a “smiling” isolated primary hepatocyte, examining the mitochondria lipid droplet interaction. Cells were stained with Mitotracker (purple), Bodipy (cyan) and DAPI (grey) to visualise mitochondria, lipid droplets, and nucleus, respectively.
Smiling cell-fie.
Super resolution Airyscan image depicting a “smiling” isolated primary hepatocyte, examining the mitochondria lipid droplet interaction. Cells were stained with Mitotracker (purple), Bodipy (cyan) and DAPI (grey) to visualise mitochondria, lipid droplets, and nucleus, respectively.
Volume Imaging
1st Prize
Richard Harwood, Sydney University
Banksia spinulosa.
A CT scan of a Banksia spinulosa flower. This native flower was taken from Sydney University and is part of a project documenting native flowers with rich indigenous history.
Banksia spinulosa.
A CT scan of a Banksia spinulosa flower. This native flower was taken from Sydney University and is part of a project documenting native flowers with rich indigenous history.
2nd Prize
Maria Daglas, The University of Melbourne
Snakes and Ladders.
This video shows the close relationship of lymphatic vessels (light blue) with blood vessels (red) in a subregion of the mouse lower urinary tract. A dense blood capillary network can be seen underneath the large lymphatic vessels laying on the surface. The optically-cleared tissue sample was fluorescently labelled with Lyve1 to stain lymphatics or CD31/podocalyxin to stain blood vessels.
Snakes and Ladders.
This video shows the close relationship of lymphatic vessels (light blue) with blood vessels (red) in a subregion of the mouse lower urinary tract. A dense blood capillary network can be seen underneath the large lymphatic vessels laying on the surface. The optically-cleared tissue sample was fluorescently labelled with Lyve1 to stain lymphatics or CD31/podocalyxin to stain blood vessels.
2nd Prize
Gerry Shami, The University of Sydney
Exploring the giant world of mitochondria in human hepatocytes.
3-D rendering of four hepatic parenchymal cells reconstructed from 400 serial sections using array tomography from a patient diagnosed with fatty liver disease. Within the cells, >25,000 structures were manually segmented, these include: the entire chondriome (mitochondrial population) (multi-coloured), lipid droplets (yellow) and nuclei (white).
Exploring the giant world of mitochondria in human hepatocytes.
3-D rendering of four hepatic parenchymal cells reconstructed from 400 serial sections using array tomography from a patient diagnosed with fatty liver disease. Within the cells, >25,000 structures were manually segmented, these include: the entire chondriome (mitochondrial population) (multi-coloured), lipid droplets (yellow) and nuclei (white).
Distinction
James Cremasco, Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Villi of Murine Ilium.
This sample is a murine ilium explant. In this image, the villi express a GFP reporter for E-cadherin (green), with the lamina propria revealed by second harmonic generation (blue). Propidium iodide spots (red) are also interspersed in the crypts of the villi, as well as bellow the lamina propria.
Briefly, ilium explants were surgically removed from mice, and incubated in 1mg/ml PI for 5 minutes before imaging by 2-photon microscopy. The ilium explants were incubated in 1mg/ml scopolamine from resection to imaging to abrogate residual peristaltic contractions, to allow for the acquisition of these 3D volumes.
Villi of Murine Ilium.
This sample is a murine ilium explant. In this image, the villi express a GFP reporter for E-cadherin (green), with the lamina propria revealed by second harmonic generation (blue). Propidium iodide spots (red) are also interspersed in the crypts of the villi, as well as bellow the lamina propria.
Briefly, ilium explants were surgically removed from mice, and incubated in 1mg/ml PI for 5 minutes before imaging by 2-photon microscopy. The ilium explants were incubated in 1mg/ml scopolamine from resection to imaging to abrogate residual peristaltic contractions, to allow for the acquisition of these 3D volumes.
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