Image Competition 2026

Congratulations to the winners and runners up of the 2025 MNZ microimage competition!

Three judges scored the entries based on scientific impact, technical difficulty, artistic value and creative description. This competition was hosted by the Hugh Green Technology Centre at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and was only possible with the support of our sponsors: Interlab, Evident, Medi Ray, and Sartorius.

We are excited to announce the winners from each category:

Winners of the 2025 Microimage Competition

  • A black and white microscopic image of a cell, showing the cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus with numerous small structures inside.

    "Ex Ovo Omnia (Everything From the Egg)"

    Karen Reader and Amelia Eaton-University of Otago

    1st place, unlabelled category.

  • Colorful, microscopic marine creature with a spiral shell, tiny limbs, and intricate details set against a black background.

    "This Mite be the Cure"

    Joana Merk, James Baty, Alfonso Schmidt, Phil Lester-Victoria University of Wellington

    1st place, labelled category.

Runners up from the 2025 Microimage Competition

  • Close-up microscopic view of a plant leaf structure with an intricate pattern of holes and cells, illuminated in pinkish-orange color on a black background.

    "Cellwall Diffusion Rate in Red Beech Wood"

    Lloyd Donaldson-Bioeconomy Science Institute/Scion

    2nd place, unlabelled category.

  • A close-up black-and-white electron microscope image showing intricate details of a biological specimen with many elongated and rounded structures, some appearing to be intertwined or overlapping.

    "Zooidal Defense Mechanisms Revealed: SEM of Avicularia Grasping Prey"

    Ismael Chowdhury-University of Otago

    3rd place, unlabelled category.

  • A microscopic view of a biological tissue sample with colorful stained regions, showing cellular structures and patterns in blue, purple, and orange hues.

    "The Antigen Jacuzzi"

    Evelyn Hyde-Malaghan Institute of Medical Research

    2nd place, labelled category.

  • Microscopic view of biological cells with blue and yellow fluorescence.

    "Having a Ball"

    Janet Reid-University of Otago

    3rd Place, labelled category.

Logo for Hugh Green Technology Centre at the Malaghan Institute, featuring multicolored circles forming a circular pattern.
Close-up of the word 'EVIDENT' with a stylized V in blue.
Logo with yellow letters 'MR' and the words 'MEDIRAY+' in black and grey text
A logo for Microscopy New Zealand features a circular emblem with the letters M and N in bold black font, and the name 'Microscopy New Zealand' written below.

Thanks to our sponsors:

Interlab logo with stylized blue wave and text
The word 'STARTUPS' in a stylized, black, uppercase font.

Banner image courtesy of Duane Harland-BSI, Lincoln