Every year, the Endocrine Images Art Competition invites the scientific community to view their research through a different lens: one that blends innovation, discovery, and aesthetic beauty. The 2025 winner is Dr. Sriram Gubbi with his glorious image, The Cosmic Bubble. It captures the dynamic structure of follicular thyroid carcinoma cells.
Organized by the Endocrine Society, the competition continues to grow in both scope and creativity. Over 30 entries were submitted this year, with winners selected by a panel of Society members who evaluated submissions based on visual impact and scientific relevance.
Dr. Gubbi is a physician-scientist at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). He described the winning image as a visualization of thyroid cancer cells actively consuming colloid, resulting in distinct “scalloped” voids. The use of modified darkfield and filter illumination transformed the image into a glowing constellation of cellular activity—so striking it resembles an otherworldly nebula.
“This image highlights the hyperactive nature of thyroid carcinoma cells, as evidenced by the consumption of the colloid, which leaves empty, circular ‘scalloped’ areas,” Gubbi wrote in his entry. “This modified darkfield and filter illumination technique makes the tissues more luminescent and dynamic, resulting in an image that looks like an alien world, with the scalloped areas appearing as mysterious ‘cosmic bubbles.’”
More Striking Images of the Endocrine Images Art Competition
Second place was awarded to Dr. Encarnación Torres Jiménez of Harvard Medical School. Her entry, Follow Your Heart, But Take Your Brain with You, elegantly depicted the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus in a glorious heart-shaped arrangement. It’s an homage to the emotional and intellectual dimensions of neuroscience.
In third place, Dr. Siew Hoong Yip from the University of Otago highlighted the complexity of neurodiversity. His vivid micrograph of hypothalamic arcuate nucleus dopaminergic (A12) neurons. The image accompanied a recent mini-review published in Endocrinology, bridging scientific publication with visual storytelling.
All three winners will have their work exhibited at ENDO 2025 in San Francisco (July 12–15), where their art will inspire thousands of attendees. Their images will also feature in Endocrine News, across the Society’s website, and on its social platforms.
Where Science Meets Inspiration
At its heart, the Endocrine Images Art Competition reflects a growing recognition that scientific discovery is also a form of art. By revealing the beauty of biology under the microscope, these images deepen our connection to the work done in labs and clinics around the world.
Personally, I know so little about scientific photography. And contests like this are definitely the way to explore it more, but also learn more about various scientific areas. I was deeply touched by Dr. Encarnación Torres Jiménez’s image (and I loved the title, too). It reminded me of how magical my body is and how much love it gives me even when I don’t give it back.
Take a closer look at the top 2025 entries, and fid more details on the official Endocrine Images Art Competition website.
