QBI Art in Neuroscience Winners
An image of the core of a dead neurosphere has taken first prize in the 2025 QBI Art in Neuroscience Image Competition.
Muhammed Syed won first prize in the annual scientific art competition for his work titled ‘The Sphere of Sauron’, an arresting portrayal of neurons and astrocytes migrating out after the neurosphere has died.
A neurosphere is a 3D, free-floating cluster of neural stem cells grown in a laboratory, mimicking the neural tissue environment to study brain development and diseases like Parkinson’s disease.
These spherical structures form in special liquid cultures, providing a model for understanding complex brain functions and disorders.
The judging panel – which included experts from Jan Murphy Gallery and Philip Bacon Galleries – were extremely impressed with the winning entry which they commended for its exceptional creativity and striking likeness to a small sun.
“This work is incredibly arresting – it exudes energy – almost pulsating which is extraordinary as it depicts the core of a dead neurosphere,” the judges said.
“This image radiates like a sun.”
Second place went to Alison Carlisle for her entry titled ‘Embers of the Mind’, which describes neuronal somas burning bright in a the cortex as a metaphor for embers glowing in a darkened field. Their arrangement reflects the exquisite organisation of the brain, where millions of such cells work together to create thought, memory and perception.
Dr Alex McCann claimed first prize in the inaugural video category for her artwork titled ‘The Very Hungry Caveolin’. Second place went to Dr Matthew Van De Poll.
Dr McCann’s artwork depicts a caveolin protein clusters’ movement, charted in a unique shape resembling the beloved caterpillar from Eric Carle’s classic children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
The People’s Choice Award received a record number of votes from a mini public art gallery inside QBI and from social media voting submissions. Victor Vasquez Matsuda claimed victory in this category for his image ‘After the Storm’, which received over 130 votes.
The image portrayed a scarred brain landscape where astrocytes (green) gather around fractured vessels (magenta), AQP4 (orange) traces the disrupted water channels, and DAPI (blue) marks the silent nuclei that remain.
The QBI Art in Neuroscience Competition is an annual competition to inspire the creativity of our researchers and capture the mystery and beauty of their scientific discoveries.