Nikon Small World Exhibition Travels to Bruce Museum

1st Place, Dr. Oscar Ruiz, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Four-day-old zebrafish embryo, 10x

5th Place, Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus, Front foot (tarsus) of a male diving beetle, Confocal 100x

Starting July 29, the Bruce Museum will showcase the top 20 award-winning photographs of the 42nd annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. This traveling exhibition, which is on view in Greenwich through October 29, 2017, shows the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope. The Bruce Museum will supplement the show with the display of historical 20th-century microscopes used by former Bruce Museum directors Edward Bigelow and Paul Howes.

The exhibition is supported by Nikon and The Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund.

The super close-up photographs were judged by independent experts on the basis of originality, informational content, technical proficiency and visual impact.The subject matter is unrestricted and any type of light microscopy technique is acceptable, including phase contrast, polarized light, fluorescence, interference contrast, darkfield, confocal, deconvolution, and mixed techniques.

The award for first place in the Nikon competition went to Oscar Ruiz, Ph.D. for his microscopic view of the facial development of a four-day-old zebrafish embryoo. Dr. Ruiz uses the zebrafish to study genetic mutations that lead to facial abnormalities such as cleft lip and palate in humans in the lab of Dr. George Eisenhoffer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Ruiz brings the world face-to-face with his research on facial development and cellular morphogenesis with his winning image.

The judges were intrigued by Ruiz’s innovative techniques to capture time-lapse images of the developing zebrafish face. Using the time-lapse as a guide, Ruiz is creating an atlas of the development of the zebrafish face. His group is tracking physical landmarks throughout development to create a series of metrics that can be used to accurately describe the cellular movements that occur during the normal development of the face. These metrics can then be used to identify abnormalities in the development of zebrafish harboring specific genetic mutations identified in human patients. He hopes that these findings will help provide insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are altered in patients with facial deformities.

In addition to Dr. Ruiz, Nikon recognized 76 other winners of the 2016 Small World competition, which is comprised of ranked top 20 winning images, 14 Honorable Mentions and 61 Images of Distinction. Scientists, photographers and hobbyists from 70 countries submitted more than 2,000 entries. Judges selected winners that exemplified artistic quality as well as exceptional scientific technique. The Bruce Museum will feature the top 20 winners.