Contributors

Michael Peres is an award-winning photo educator, author, and photographer. He joined the faculty of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences in 1986. During his career at RIT, he has dedicated himself to inspiring generations of curious students, many of whom have become leaders in various fields, including the life sciences and medical sciences and the imaging industry. He recently held RIT’s Gannett Endowed Professorship of Integrated Publishing Sciences.

Peres earned a master’s degree in instructional technology from RIT and holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and biomedical photographic communications. He is a registered biological photographer.

He loves using microscopes to photograph very tiny subjects and has taught microscopy, laboratory photography, and other classes, including surgical photography, at RIT and in workshops around the globe. His work has been recognized for its innovation by photographers, scientists, and professional organizations. He is one of the world’s leading snowflake photographers, and his pictures have been published by Time, CNN, the Weather Channel, and Mashable. He has presented papers and imaging-related workshops all over the United States, as well as in Sweden, Canada, the United Kingdom, Austria, Tanzania, the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia. Peres is one of the long-standing leaders of the signature annual RIT Big Shot and Images from Science projects. He has won numerous honors, including the RIT Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching; the RIT College of Art and Design’s Gitner Prize, presented for outstanding performance in the graphic arts; and the Louis B. Schmidt Award, presented by the BioCommunications Association for lifetime contributions to the biocommunications industry.

Images from science: https://images.cad.rit.edu

Professional page: http://mrppph.cad.rit.edu

RIT Big Shot project: http://www.rit.edu/bigshot

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael_peres/

Jan Martinek is currently a PhD student in plant cell biology at Charles University of Prague in the Czech Republic.

His research focuses on the actin cytoskeleton and plant cell growth and morphogenesis. His love for the microscopic world started in childhood, when he got his first toy microscope and tried to shoot the awe-inspiring microscopic world through the eyepiece with a point-and-shoot camera. This early curiosity turned into a passion for microphotography – capturing the mesmerizing details of life unseen by the naked eye.

Throughout his studies, he’s been captivated by the geometric beauty of plants’ cells and tissues. The intricate structures and patterns of plant anatomy have been both central to his research and a source of artistic inspiration. His microphotography journey has also led him to share many stunning images on Instagram, with the goal of bridging the gap between scientific discovery and photographic art. By showcasing the hidden beauty of plant cells, he hopes to inspire curiosity and wonder in others, fostering a deeper connection with the natural world.

Derek Sung is a physician-scientist, currently completing his residency in pathology; he lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He received his MD and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. His research has ranged from heart valve disease and heart development to the cytoskeleton and male infertility. Currently, he studies how blood and lymphatic vessels grow in the developing embryo and placenta. He has over 10 years of experience in immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy.

In his free time, Sung runs a microscopy Instagram account – @Immunofluorescence – and cohosts a podcast titled Beyond the Abstract.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/immunofluorescence/

Beyond the Abstract podcast: https://beyondtheabstract.captivate.fm/ (also available on Spotify and the Apple podcast app)

Julien Resseguier is a group leader at the University of Oslo in Norway. He studies the spatial dynamics of immune responses and infections, with particular interest in the branchial cavity lymphoid architecture of fish and in nanomedicines.

He completed his PhD in 2017 at the University of Lyon, using the zebrafish model to study therapeutic nanoparticles. He then did a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Oslo with Gareth Griffiths, studying the cell biology aspect of nanomedicines using fish models of human diseases. After his fellowship, he worked as a researcher with Finn-Eirik Johansen and Shuo-Wang Qiao at the University of Oslo, studying the cod immune system. Recently awarded a competitive Young Research talent grant by the Research Council of Norway and a Starting Grant by the European Research Council, Resseguier is now a group leader within the comparative immunology research groups in the biosciences department at the University of Oslo.

Using high-resolution 3D imaging, he and collaborators published a study in Science Advances that characterized the lymphoid organization of zebrafish gills – identifying the amphibranchial lymphoid tissue (ALT) on the side of the gill arches and revealing the existence of the Nemausean lymphoid organ (NELO), a lymphoid organ in the branchial cavity that is reminiscent of mammalian tonsils. In addition, Resseguier applies his enthusiasm for the artistic aspects of microscopy to promoting the use of fish models in research for human health, the sustainability of aquaculture, and animal health and welfare. Several of his images and videos have received awards in Nikon’s Small World competition.

Instagram: @iceflone

Twitter: @iceflon

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-ress%C3%A9guier-06262670/

Igor Siwanowicz is a research scientist at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus.

He earned his PhD at the Max Planck Institute in Germany in structural biochemistry, but his love for animals and nature, as well as a desire to see the bigger picture, drove him to refocus his scientific work on neurobiology. This transition was facilitated by his expertise in invertebrate morphology, which he developed through macrophotography. A confocal microscope became his key tool of trade, allowing for even more intimate insight into natural forms than is possible through a macro lens.

For the past 12 years, he has been studying the anatomy and biomechanics of movement in invertebrates at Janelia. His images have placed a total of 25 times in Nikon’s Small World and Olympus’s BioScapes competitions. In 2020, he received the Royal Photographic Society’s Scientific Imaging Award. Siwanowicz’s science-informed art aims to awaken viewers to the beauty of natural forms and multiple facets of design present in nature at every scale.

Karl Gaff is a senior technical officer in the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.

He holds a master’s degree in imaging and microscopy from University College Dublin and a bachelor’s degree in physics and physics technology.

Outside of his professional role, Gaff channels his passion for science into photography at his studio in South Dublin. By blending art and science, he utilizes microscopy as a tool to capture nature in ways never seen before, combining his artistic vision, creativity, and imagination. His goal is to produce photographs and cinematography that are not only visually striking but also scientifically accurate and educational. He aims to inspire and educate others about the wonders of physics and the natural world.

“Behind every picture there is a story, a story of nature that we try to decipher through the language of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. Ultimately, Nature is the real artist here, I am just her photographer; I supply her with the ingredients, and she weaves them into the most wonderful colours and forms.” 
          — Karl Gaff

Website: https://artofsciencephotography.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofsciencephotography

Andy Moore is a postdoctoral scientist in the Lippincott-Schwartz lab on HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus.

He earned his PhD in neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, where he researched mitochondria quality control and dynamics in the lab of Erika Holzbaur.

Moore specializes in cell biology with a focus on organelle-cytoskeleton interactions. Currently, his work centers on understanding how cells organize and position their organelles, with particular attention on the interactions between vimentin intermediate filaments and the endoplasmic reticulum. His research combines advanced light and volume electron microscopy techniques to delve into the complexities of cell structure and function.

Matt Tyska joined the cell and developmental biology department at Vanderbilt University as an assistant professor in 2004. He is currently the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and the scientific director of the Vanderbilt Cell Imaging Shared Resource.

He earned his PhD in molecular physiology and biophysics at the University of Vermont and did postdoctoral training with Mark Mooseker at Yale University.

Tyska’s research focuses on understanding how the cytoskeleton controls cell shape and function, specifically in the context of transporting the epithelial cells that line the intestinal tract. Over the past 20 years, his laboratory has made a number of fundamental and field-leading discoveries about the assembly and function of the enterocyte brush border, the apical specialization responsible for intestinal nutrient uptake. Although light and electron microscopy serve as the lab’s principal discovery tools, its investigations are broad in scope, ranging from studying mouse model systems to imaging single molecules in live cells. Importantly, because of the critical physiological role of the brush border, the Tyska laboratory’s basic science findings hold direct relevance for understanding human intestinal disease.