In 2009 the Centenary Institute launched its annual ‘Scientific Image Prize’ providing opportunities for our staff to share the aesthetic magnificence they see each day and to showcase their work in a creative context.
The quality of images presented over the last five years has been exceptional and some now hang on our walls at Centenary.
Each year, entries are judged by a panel of scientists from our Faculty and this year we were honoured to welcome to our judging panel renowned Sydney-based artist Janet Laurence. Janet has been the recipient of both a Rockefeller and Churchill Fellowship, she was a Trustee of the Art Gallery of NSW, and is currently Visiting Fellow at College of Fine Arts NSW University.
We were also honoured to have Professor Ian Frazer AC formally announce the 2013 Scientific Image Prize winners at our Annual Meeting last month. Professor Frazer has reached international acclaim as the co-inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine (HPV) and was made the 2006 Australian of the Year. He is also a member of the Centenary Institute’s Scientific Advisory Board.
Awarded 1st place was Dr Ka Ka Ting from our Vascular Biology group with her entry titled ‘The Eye of Sauron’ (main picture).
This image is a zoomed-in image of a Zebrafish eye. The green shows a distinct population of neurons in the eye and red are tubulins to outline neuronal processes. As you can see, Dr Ting’s image is an encapsulating representation and an enchanting piece of art.
Dr Rohit Jain from our Immune Imaging lab was awarded 2nd place for his image ‘Corridors to Life’.
And in joint 3rd place and both from Centenary’s Vascular Biology group were Dr Michael Lovelace and Garry Chang for their images entitled: ‘Tunnel vision – an inside view of the single microtubule filament’; and ‘The Blooming Vascular Network’ respectively.
Tunnel Vision The Blooming Vascular Network
The images our scientists are able to take of their work are truly extraordinary when considering their scientific importance in the progression of medical research as well as their impact on an audience as a creative representation in their own right.
I trust you find these images as captivating as we do at Centenary and I invite you to view our online exhibition with the full gallery of our 2013 entrants. The realisation that these dynamic images depict blood vessels, skin cells or the growth of live tumour cells is hypnotising.
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