2020 Photomicrography Competition

Daphnia magna (Phyllopoda)

Ahmad Fauzan

Affiliation
Saipem
Jakarta, Indonesia
Technique
Image Stacking
Magnification
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Mr. Fauzan, a multiple winner in 2020 (see 5th place), is an engineer by trade and a microscopist by hobby. This image is of Daphnia magna, which is a small planktonic crustacean and popular scientific study subject. The image was taken to illustrate the details of the eyes and antenna area. Focus and clarity was achieved using image stacking techniques.

Connections between hippocampal neurons (brain cells)

Jason Kirk Quynh Nguyen

Affiliation
Baylor College of Medicine
Optical Imaging & Vital Microscopy Core
Houston, Texas, USA
Technique
Confocal
Magnification
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)

This is the second of three winning images from Jason Kirk in this year’s competition (see 7th place and his Image of Distinction). A professional microscopist and director of the Optical Imaging and Vital Microscopy Core facility at Baylor College of Medicine, Mr. Kirk took this image of neurons cultured from hippocampi of newly born mice. Note the level of detail and vast number of connections (dendritic spines) between these cells in this newly born specimen. This imaging is used in research of how certain proteins affect the development of dendritic spines.

Red algae

Dr. Tagide deCarvalho

Affiliation
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Technique
Confocal
Magnification
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Tagide deCarvalho is a research assistant professor and a director of the Keith R. Porter Imaging Facility at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA. Although this image is of algae, he learned confocal microscopy as a postdoc, imaging a region of the brain called the habenula. This image of red algae, with its somewhat “skeletal” branching patterns, highlights a species that has some of the most complex life cycles known for living organisms. It was captured using confocal with a combination of natural fluorescence and acridine orange dye.