NBTE Scientific Image Competition
Can your research be captured in an appealing scientific photo? You can now participate in our Scientific Image Competition! Three selected candidates will be given the opportunity to explain the science behind their picture with a 1-minute pitch during the NBTE annual conference, where they will compete for an award of 100€!
The next competion will be in 2022. The exact deadline will be announced on this page.
Rules:
- applicants should be students, PhD candidates, postdocs, or technicians.
- only one image per participant is allowed
- the subject matter of the competition images is very flexible, but it should reflect research in Biomaterials and/or Tissue Engineering
- editing is allowed but the image should depict a real “object”
- the entry must be sent by email as high resolution .tiff, .jpeg or.png file (ideally minimum resolution of 2 megapixel/200 dpi, if the instrument allows it)
- the entry must be sent together with the filled application form (Image Competition form.docx) to nbte@nbte.nl (if needed, you can use a file transfer service e.g. Surf Filesender)
*The awarded image will be posted on the NBTE website after the annual meeting, provided there is explicit consent from the winner.
Winner: Deepti Rana (PhD student at the University of Twente)
Title: A Stormy Night: Green light thunderstorms over the blue horizon
Description: This image shows patterning of self-organizing microvascular networks within 3D microenvironment, looking similar to a thunderstorm at night over the blue ocean. For patterning, the VEGF specific aptamer functionalized GelMA bio-inks with MSCs & HUVECs were bioprinted in lines next to plain GelMA bio-ink (with blue fluorescent micro-particles). Subsequently, the samples were loaded with VEGF, expecting aptamer lines would sequester VEGF but not GelMA lines. After 10 days of culture, we observed microvascular network formation confined within the aptamer lines only. This behaviour confirmed that the VEGF loaded aptamer lines were able to guide the network formation within 3D microenvironment.
Instrument used: Nikon Confocal Microscope/ A1 Series (10x Objective). The image is a maximum projection of z-stacks.