iBET’s First BioImaging Contest

Madalena Abade, Rita Marques, Marta Gomes, Inês Sá, Francisca Arez

Advanced Cell Models Lab

Immunofluorescence image of a 2D culture of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived brain pericytes, labeled with nuclei marker DAPI (blue) and pericyte markers PDGFRϐ (green) and α-SMA (red). Brain pericytes are key components of the neurovascular unit and contribute to blood-brain barrier integrity. The swirling, star-like patterns observed in the culture reflect the dynamic behavior, self-organization, and contractile properties of brain pericytes in vitro, evoking the flowing motion characteristic of The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. These human brain pericyte-like cells can be integrated into 3D human brain models to investigate their contribution to the brain’s innate immune response against gene therapy vectors, enabling the study of neurovascular and inflammatory mechanisms in a human-relevant experimental system.

Inês Sá, Francisca Arez, Madalena Abade, Giacomo Domenici, Catarina Brito

Advanced Cell Models Lab

Confocal microscopy image of high-grade glioma spheroids labeled with eGFP (green), ϐIII-tubulin (red), and phalloidin (white). Along the upper edges of the spheroid, eGFP-positive protrusions extend outward as tumor cells begin to attach to the culture surface, creating flame-like shapes that evoke the motion and glow of a fireball. This vivid arrangement highlights the invasive dynamics of glioma cells and their cytoskeletal organization within a 3D tumor model, offering a striking visual metaphor for the aggressive behavior characteristic of high-grade gliomas. This image is part of an ongoing project aimed at engineering a translational human 3D model to depict invasion in immunosuppressive high-grade gliomas.

Miriam Rodrigues, Lara Inocêncio, Pedro Vicente

Stem and Immune Cells Bioengineering Lab

This image captures plated aggregates of human cardiomyocytes as they migrate, reorganize, and initiate the formation of early cardiac tissue. Cardiac troponin T (red) highlights the alignment of contractile fibers, TOMM20 (green) maps mitochondrial distribution, and nuclei are shown in blue. Acquired via confocal microscopy on the MICA platform. As cardiomyocytes migrate outward from the aggregate, they elongate and coordinate their sarcomeric and mitochondrial networks, maintaining cell–cell interactions and promoting functional maturation. This behavior positions cardiac aggregates as building blocks for scaffold-free tissue formation.

Khrystyna Kucheryava, Andreia Conceição, Sofia Rebelo, Bernardo Abecasis, Madalena Lopes

Bayer Satellite Lab

A susceptible bacterial strain is infected with phage particles before and after selection round. Under controlled conditions, individual bacteria are infected by single phage particles and acquire phage-encoded antibiotic resistance, allowing only successfully infected cells to survive and form colonies. Each colony therefore corresponds to one infectious phage. To titrate the phages, a serial dilution of the phage pool is done and 10ul of the mix is pipetted to agar plates. By counting resistant bacterial colonies, the number of phages present in the population can be calculated and compared before and after selection, enabling quantification of phage recovery and enrichment. This method is essential in phage display workflows, as it provides a functional readout of infective phage particles and selection efficiency.

Constança Bertrand, Francisco Nunes, Pedro Brandão, Teresa Crespo

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Lab

This image captures a Petri dish culture of the freshwater microalga Didymogenes sp. NFX-PL1, originally isolated from the Ponte de Lima region in northern Portugal, alongside its naturally associated microbiome. The dish displays green microalgal colonies interspersed with diverse, pigmented bacterial colonies, reflecting the variety of microorganisms that coexist with NFX-PL1 in its native environment. The culture was prepared through serial dilution plating, enabling quantification of colony-forming units (CFUs) and facilitating the isolation of individual bacterial strains for downstream characterization. By visualizing the morphological diversity of the microbiome, the image highlights the complexity of microbial communities associated with microalgae and underscores their relevance in environmental and biotechnological research.

Miguel Pinto, Gonçalo Trindade, Rita Marques, Maria França, Marta Gomes

Advanced Cell Models Lab

Genomic DNA from primary human macrophages subjected to CRISPR–Cas9–mediated knockout of CD14 was extracted, PCR-amplified across the nuclease cut site, and purified prior to electrophoresis. The resulting amplicons were resolved on a 2% agarose gel, with samples loaded sequentially during short electrophoretic runs to finely control DNA migration. This image captures the molecular outcome of targeted genome editing while illustrating the deliberate manipulation of electrophoretic dynamics to shape DNA movement within the gel matrix.