For Barb Danowski, it is a small world after all, and a beautiful
one at that.
The biology professor who spends much of her research observing and
photographing activity at the cellular level, recently won accolades at the international
level by taking grand prize in the 23rd Nikon International Small World Photography
Competition, which recognizes excellence in the field of photomicrography.
She was honored on Nov. 13 at an awards reception in New York City.
Her colorful winning photograph shows mouse fibroblasts magnified 160
times. Fibroblasts are cells that produce connective tissues in the body.
Danowski, who specializes in cell biology, uses immunofluorescence to
highlight cell proteins. The resulting photographs are colorful and dramatic, showing the
protein actin in green, actin stress points at the end of the fibers in orange and yellow,
and the cell nucleus in red. All are dramatically set against a black background.
The photos she takes are primarily for her research, not for their
beauty, she says. “I didn't make these pictures just for the purpose of entering
the contest, even though much of cell biology is beautiful,” she said. “They are
an important part of my research.”
As the grand winner, Danowski had the choice of $4,000 in Nikon
equipment, or a vacation. She chose the latter and plans to travel to Scotland next
summer.
Her work also will be featured in a calendar (Her photo is February.)
and in a traveling exhibition, which is to be at the Nott Memorial this summer. Other
stops in the 13-city tour include Atlanta, Nashville, Phoenix and Cleveland.
Danowski received an honorable mention in the 1995 competition for a
photograph she took with student Kenneth Lee, a 1995 Union graduate now studying at Johns
Hopkins University. That photo also featured mouse fibroblasts highlighted by
immunofluorescence.