GE Healthcare Life Sciences, a business unit of GE Healthcare, has recently begun voting for the 2012 Cell Imaging Competition at gelifesciences.com/ cellimagecompetition from November 22 to December 19, 2012. The Cell Imaging Competition is supported by BioTechniques.

The cell imaging competition celebrates the exceptional research of scientists across the world using IN Cell Analyzer, DeltaVision Elite and DeltaVision OMX systems in their work.

Scientists and the wider public are invited to choose their favourite image in two shortlist categories – high-content analysis and high- and super-resolution microscopy – chosen from images submitted by researchers worldwide. Their selection can be made on any basis, whether it is the beauty of the image, the type of research involved, or the technical skills required to generate it. The winners will be invited to see their images displayed on NBC’s high definition screen in Times Square, New York.

The judging panel which shortlists the images is drawn from past winners, academia, editors of peer reviewed journals, and GE scientists.

This year the panel comprised: Dr Christine Nybo, assistant editor, BioTechniques, Dr Julian Heath, editor, Microscopy & Analysis, Dr Leslie Caron, research scientist, Genea Stem Cells (and a winner in 2011), Dr Nick Thomas, principal scientist, Cell Technologies, GE Healthcare and Dr Paul Goodwin, science director, Applied Precision, part of Cell Technologies, GE Healthcare.

Dr Amr Abid, general manager of Cell Technologies, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, said, “High-content and super-resolution cell imaging are pioneering technologies that help scientists explore the universe of the cell, to better understand complex cellular mechanisms, and advance the understanding of disease processes. Whether it is the aesthetics or the science that draws people in, we hope that both scientists and the wider public will be inspired and informed by this year’s images.”

Alongside the online voting, attendees at two conferences (ASCB, December 15-19, USA and MBSJ, December 11-14, Japan) will also be invited to vote for their favourite. The votes will be combined to select a maximum of four winners. One main High-Content Analysis winner and one main High-Resolution and Super–Resolution Microscopy winner. In addition, there will be regional winners from regions not represented by winners of these categories. The three regions are; North America; Europe, Middle East and Africa; Asia and the rest of the world (including Australia and New Zealand).

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. The broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost.