9 November 2009

Visions of Discovery - From Bacteria to Brain Tumours, Chromosomes to Cancer Cells

Exhibition opens November 12th, Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill

A series of stunning images arising from biological and medical research form a new exhibition opening at the University of Dundee this week - 'Visions of Discovery'.

From bacteria to brain tumours, and chromosomes to cancer cells Visions of Discovery shows fascinating images of bioscience research produced by University of Dundee researchers based in the Colleges of Life Sciences and Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing.

The exhibition shows the results of the Visions of Discovery competition held among staff and postgraduate students across the two colleges.

'The images give some fascinating insights into key research areas, and remind us just how beautiful nature really is' said Dr Jenny Woof, co-organiser of the exhibition and competition, and Reader in Immunology in the Division of Medical Sciences at the University's Medical School, Ninewells Hospital.

'We have run similar competitions in the Medical School before but this time we decided to showcase the wider range of medical and life science research being conducted in the University.'

Entrants were encouraged to submit images relating to their research, resulting in a dazzling array of entries reflecting work in subjects ranging from deadly parasites to cells of our immune system, from nerve cells to microtubules in the gut, and from dying cells to fruit fly embryos.

'The subject matter ranges from the large right down to the incredibly small, and from the clinically relevant through to images that illuminate our basic understanding of the cell,' said Dr Paul Andrews, competition and exhibition co-organiser, and a senior scientist in the Drug Discovery Unit in the College of Life Sciences.

'It is worth remembering that while the images are visually quite beautiful and awe-inspiring they are not just pretty pictures - they reflect the cutting edge research taking place in Dundee, using some of the most advanced techniques in the world'

The exhibition is being held in the Dalhousie Building on Old Hawkill, from November 13th until January 2010.

Winners of the competition will be attending a special preview opening of the exhibition from 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm on Thursday November 12th. Prizes will be awarded for the best overall image and the best PhD student entry, among others.

Judges for the competition were Dr Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programmes, Wellcome Trust; Rose Taylor, Creative Director of the Science Photo Library; Dr. Bernd Pulverer, Editor of Nature Cell Biology; and Professor Anne Anderson, Head of the College of Art, Science and Engineering at the University of Dundee.

For more information on the competition see: http://vod.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
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University of Dundee
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