2018 BioArt Winners
Parinaz Fathi; Neal Mistry; Tor Jensen, PhD; Brad Sutton, PhD; and Dipanjan Pan, PhD
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Title: 3D Image of a Human Heart
Research focus: Cardiovascular research
This image depicts a 3D-printed heart which was based on an MRI image taken of a patient's heart. The use of 3D models is one example of how medical care can be made more interactive and understandable for patients.
Funding: National Physical Science Consortium Graduate Fellowship, National Institute of Standards & Technology GMSE Fellowship
Carolyn Tam, MSc
Imperial College London
Title: 3D Image of Bio-receptive Panels Infused with Living Bacterial Cellulose Fibers
Research focus: Bioreceptive structure for bacterial cellulose
The image shows how biological fabrication can be integrated with bio-receptive materials. These panels are infused with bacterial cellulose fibers, which will ultimately grow, evolve, and respond to their environment, turning buildings into a living infrastructure.
Michael Chaise Gilbert
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Title: Zebrafish Skeletal Image Showing Bone and Cartilage
Research focus: Anatomy
This image of a zebrafish (Danio rerio) shows the bone (green) and the cartilage (red) that comprises the skeleton. Researchers are using this image, and ones like it, to better identify how a mutation in the primary cilia can affect skeletal development, structure, and morphology.
Funding: National Science Foundation , Division of Integrative Organismal Systems
Jodi A. Hadden, PhD
University of Delaware, Newark
Title: The Capsid of the Hepatitis B Virus
Research focus: Computational virology
The hepatitis B virus (HBV) packages its genome in an icosahedral protein shell called a capsid (depicted here). Eberhard’s theorem indicates that a capsid must contain 12 pentamers to form a closed shell (upper left). The HBV capsid is composed of 12 pentamers and 30 hexamers (lower left). The triangulation number of the capsid, T=4, indicates that there are four unique positions that constituent proteins can occupy (upper right). There are a total of T*60=240 proteins, altogether 120 dimers, that make up the HBV capsid (lower right).
Casey Holliday, PhD
University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia
Member: American Association of Anatomists, Society for Vertebrate Paleontology
Title: Human Hand Showing Carpal Tunnel Tendons and Palm Muscles
Research focus: Comparative biomechanics and evolutionary medicine
This is an image of a human hand showing the tendons of the carpal tunnel and intrinsic muscles of the palm. The human hand is one of our finest adaptations. Researchers are using this image to determine 3D architecture of muscles to better understand how our hands work and how they've changed over time.
Zachary Randall, MS; Larry Page, PhD; and David Blackburn, PhD
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville
Title: CT Scan Reconstruction of an Angler
Research focus: Anatomy
This CT scan reconstruction of the Angler, Lophius piscatorius (UF 118531) from the Florida Museum of Natural History fish collection shows the complex osteology of a popular food fish. The colorized CT reconstruction shows change in density. The brighter colors represent elements with higher density and the darker colors represent elements with lower density.
Funding: National Science Foundation (DBI-1701714)
Marisol O’Neill,* Gene Huang,* and Dolores J. Lamb, PhD**
* Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
** Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
Member: Endocrine Society
Title: Micro CT Images of the Murine Penis
Research focus: Reproductive biology, urogenital development
This image depicts micro CT images of the murine penis. Micro CT imaging has enhanced researchers' ability to study urogenital abnormalities.
Funding: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Sardar Pasha Sheik Pran Babu
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis
Member: American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Title: Mouse Retina That Underwent Vascular Pathology
Research focus: Developmental biology – retinal vascular biology
This high-resolution fluorescence image depicts a mouse retina that underwent vascular pathology. Researchers are using this image to explore how the vascular pathology can be cured in the diseased condition using mouse in vivo models.
Amy Engevik, PhD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Member: The American Physiological Society
Title: Intestinal Villi of a Mouse
Research focus: Gastrointestinal research
The micrograph shows intestinal villi of a mouse. The immunofluorescence staining depicts the brush border (seen in pink/magenta) that is responsible for the absorption of water and nutrients that are essential for life. Scientists are using mouse models to better understand the components necessary to maintain homeostasis. This knowledge is critical to ameliorate gastrointestinal disorders and pathogenic infections.
Funding: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Crystal D. Rogers, PhD,* and Mariano Loza-Coll**
California State University, Northridge
* Member: Society for Developmental Biology
** Member: Genetics Society of America
Title: Stained Fruit Fly Ovary
Research focus: Gastrointestinal research
This image depicts a fruit fly ovary stained for cytoskeleton (magenta) and DNA (blue) and expressing GFP in cells that respond to STAT proteins (yellow). Researchers are using this experiment and image to demonstrate molecular biology techniques to undergraduate researchers.
Funding: Rogers, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R15 HD092170 01); Loza-Coll, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (SC2 GM125573 01)
Lu Yang;* David Ornitz, MD, PhD;* and Sung-Ho Huh, PhD**
* Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Members: Society for Developmental Biology
** University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha
Member: Society for Developmental Biology
Title: Mouse Nasal Cavity Showing the Olfactory Epithelium
Research focus: Developmental biology
This image depicts the inside of the mouse nasal cavity showing the olfactory epithelium, the tissue responsible for the sense of smell. The olfactory epithelium, in green, overlies the interior walls of the nasal cavity as well as the surfaces of turbinates, which are bony scrolls projecting inward from the nasal cavity wall.
Funding: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Jing Yang, PhD, and Sharon Stack, PhD
University of Notre Dame, IN
Members: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Title: Adhesive Structures on Surface of Ovarian Cancer Cells
Research focus: Cancer research
This scanning electron micrograph depicts adhesive structures on the surface of ovarian cancer cells. Researchers are using this image to investigate mechanisms of cancer cell adhesion.
Funding: National Cancer Institute
Tanveer Ahmed and Andres Buonanno
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
VIDEO
Title: Video Imaging of Human Embryonic Kidney Cells
Research focus: Cancer research
Live cell imaging of human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells which were transfected with a Neuregulin3 (NRG3) construct harboring green fluorescent protein tag. Cells were imaged 16 hours post-transfection using airy scan microscope (Zeiss). The video depicts endocytosis of NRG3 in HEK-293 cells.
Funding: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development intramural grant
Nathanaël Prunet, PhD;* Elliot Meyerowitz, PhD;** and Luciano Lucas, PhD***
* University of California, Los Angeles; California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
** California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Member: Society for Developmental Biology, Genetics Society of America
*** DRVISION Technologies, Bellevue, WA
VIDEO
Title: Video of Arabidopsis flowers forming at tip of stem
Research focus: Developmental biology
This video shows young Arabidopsis flowers forming at the tip of the stem, imaged with a confocal microscope, with cells expressing the SHOOT MERISTEMLESS gene in green. We use microscopy to study the formation of flowers, and the genes and hormones that control this developmental process.
Funding: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01 GM104244)
Maria Voigt
RCSB Protein Data Bank, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
VIDEO
Title: Video of Calcium Pump in Action
Research focus: Structural biology
Atomic structures have captured the calcium pump in action, a protein that transports calcium ions from muscle cell cytoplasm to the sarcoplasmic reticulum after each muscle contraction. The pump is powered by adenosine triphosphate and aided by magnesium.
Funding: National Science Foundation , National Institutes of Health, and US Department of Energy