The Proteintech Microscopy Image Competition is back for 2026. Whether you're imaging cells, tissues, organoids or whole organisms, we want to celebrate the incredible images driving scientific discovery.
Submit your best immunofluorescence microscopy image for the chance to win:
Entries do not have to feature Proteintech products. Two winners will be chosen via public vote: one winner with Proteintech products and one winner without.
Category 1 - Images featuring Proteintech products
Category 2 - Images featuring any products
Scroll down for the full competition rules and terms and conditions. Entries may also be showcased on the Proteintech website, email newsletter, social media channels and other marketing materials.
Submit your entry using the form on the right.
This year's competition will be judged by a panel of Proteintech scientists, joined by guest judge Dr. Joe McKellar, an internationally recognised microscopy specialist whose award-winning images have been recognised in competitions including Nikon Small World, Evident's Image of the Year Award and was the 2026 winner of CiteAb's Image of the Year Award.
Eight finalists, four images using Proteintech products and four images using any products. Finalists will be selected based on overall aesthetics, technical difficulty, research relevance, originality and suitability for the competition. The overall winner will then be determined by a public vote.
Finalist announcement: 19th October 2026
Please include a figure legend containing:
Accepted image formats: JPEG or PNG (maximum 4 MB).
On 20th October 2026, the entry form on this page will be replaced by a voting form. Only one vote per day, per person will be counted. The overall winner will be the entry that receives the most public votes.
No. The competition is open to images generated using antibodies from any supplier.
You may submit one image per category.
Yes, provided the publication is Open Access and you have permission from all relevant authors and funders.
Researchers, students and imaging specialists worldwide.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Competition opens | 3 August 2026 |
| Entry deadline | 5 October 2026 |
| Finalists announced | 19 October 2026 |
| Public voting | 19–25 October 2026 |
| Winners announced | 2 November 2026 |
Use the form below to upload your microscopy image and supporting information.
Browse the researchers behind our favorite microscopy images from past competitions.
Winner · Cat 1 · 2025Wen Lu
Northwestern University
Drosophila salivary glands stained with CoraLite 488 anti-β-tubulin (Proteintech) and DAPI.
Winner · Cat 2 · 2025Lobke Mombeek and Dr. Margarita Tevosian
Hasselt University
3D lightsheet imaging of a cleared E16 mouse embryo using Phox2B and Tubb3 antibodies.
Finalist · Cat 1 · 2025Ryszard Wimmer
Institut Curie
Cerebral Organoid Ventricular Zone stained for Centrosomes with gamma-Tubulin, SOX2 for Radial Glia Cells, Nesprin-2 (Proteintech)
Finalist · Cat 1 · 2025Bhavin Shah
Medizinische Fakultät Mannheim, Universität Heidelberg
4%PFA fixed P21 Mouse Liver Tissue stained for Liver Endothelial cells and other markers.
Finalist · Cat 1 · 2025Francisco Lázaro-Diéguez
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dedifferentiated rat liver cells stained to visualize microtubules (α-tubulin, white), β-actin (red) (66009-1-Ig), and nuclei (DAPI, green).
Finalist · Cat 2 · 2025Luisa Barleben
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
A Tale of Two Colonoids: Life and Death in 3D. Side by side, one human colonoid thrives while the other succumbs.
Finalist · Cat 2 · 2025Bruno Cisterna
Augusta University
iPSC-derived neurons after 62 days of maturation
Finalist · Cat 2 · 2025Rebecca Lee
Yale University
Intestinal villi of the mouse small intestine coming out toward the viewer (outlined in magenta) with epithelial cells outlined in yellow/green.
Winner · Cat 1 · 2024Rachel Stubler
Medical University of South Carolina
Immunofluorescent staining of the murine small intestine.
Winner · Cat 2 · 2024Wen Lu
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Drosophila wild-type ovaries (center) and mutant ovaries with impaired microtubule polymerization (periphery).
Winner · Cat 1 · 2023Jeong Hun Jo
Washington University in St. Louis
Projected wild type female mouse islet images labeled with cilia and basal body markers
Winner · Cat 2 · 2023Pinky Kain
University of Pennsylvania
Drosophila have hair like structures called sensillum that house taste neurons (green-leaf like shape) present on the fly labellum (mouth)
Finalist · Cat 1 · 2023Clarisse Brunet
Institut Curie
Lumen of a human cerebral organoid.
Finalist · Cat 1 · 2023Tabitha Rücker
Uni Hamburg-Eppendorf
Immunostained Mouse E18 prefrontal cortex, transfected with tDimer2, stained against Satb2 (in magenta/anti-647, 21307-1-AP) and donkey anti-rabbit 647.
Finalist · Cat 2 · 2023Adam Soos
Semmelweis University
18HH chicken embryo, 4% PFA fixed. Sox10 antibody (red) labels the migrating neural crest cells.
Finalist · Cat 2 · 2023Kianoosh Mempel
University of California San Diego
Antibodies used: AF647 E-Cadherin (CD324), AF594 CD45.1, FITC CD8a. Sample: Mouse Small Intestine fixed with Acetone. CYAN: E-Cadherin, GREEN: CD45.1, RED: CD8a.
Proteintech's CoraLite antibodies are directly conjugated with fluorescent dyes: CoraLite488, CoraLite594 and CoraLite647. They offer bright and long-lasting fluorescence and are ideal for immunofluorescence studies requiring multiplex co-labeling without the need for secondary antibodies.
Antibodies: CL488-66376 (Troponin I), CL594-22018 (N cadherin), CL647-67735 (Smooth muscle actin).
Mouse heart. Expression of Troponin I (green) in cardiac muscle, N cadherin (red) in intercalated discs, and smooth muscle actin (pink) in smooth muscle cells of the cardiac vasculature.
Antibodies: CL488-12633 (DAZL), CL594-13720 (BOULE), CL647-17178 (TNP1).
Mouse testis. Expression of DAZL (green) in spermatogonia cells, BOULE (red) in spermatocytes, and TNP1 (pink) in spermatids. This image shows differential protein expression during spermatogenesis.
Antibodies: CL488-17490 (MAP2), CL594-16825 (GFAP), CL647-16473 (AQP4).
Mouse brain. Expression of MAP2 (green) in neurons, GFAP (red) in astrocytes, and AQP4 (pink) in astroglial endfeet.
Nano-Secondaries are the next level of secondary antibodies. They enable cleaner images with higher resolution. They consist of VHHs, also named nanobodies, conjugated to Alexa Fluor dyes. Nano-Secondaries have high affinities and bind to primary antibodies in a subclass- and species-specific manner.
HeLa cells stably expressing Tubulin-GFP at near-endogenous level were immunostained with rabbit anti-GFP PABG1 antibody and alpaca anti-rabbit IgG VHH Alexa Fluor 647 (magenta). Nuclei were detected with H2B-RFP and RFP-Booster Atto594 (cyan). Scale bar, 10 μm.
The anti-mouse IgG2b Nano-Secondary is subclass-specific and does not cross-react with IgGs from other commonly used species, including rabbit, or with mouse IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses.
HeLa cells were immunostained with mouse IgG3 anti-Lamin A/C antibody plus alpaca anti-mouse IgG3 VHH Alexa Fluor 647 (magenta). Scale bar, 10 μm.
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