Molecular Research Core Facility Celebrates Student Researchers

Student research is honored again this year at the second annual Student Microcopy Competition. The contest encourages students to submit their best images taken while working in a research lab at Idaho State, or on their own as hobby microscopists. Entries were judged on their creativity, originality, and the accompanying description or image’s impact on their research.

This year’s winning photo, “Initial Staging of Lythrypnus dalli Embryos” was captured by graduate student Abbie Symanietz, and features various stages of embryonic development in bluebanded gobies. This research is conducted in the laboratory of Devaleena Pradhan, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Symanietz's research is focused on how male Lythrypnus dalli perform parental care behaviors which may be dependent on the development stage of the embryos.

“The microscopy competition is a great way to showcase and reward the efforts of these students. We need to make a big thing out of something little," said Jason Werth, MRCF research associate. The competition is open to any undergraduate or graduate student. If you've taken a microscopy image this year then I encourage you to submit it this fall!”

The MRCF was established at Idaho State University in 1994 and assists researchers spanning the fields of molecular genetics, microbiology, physiology, anatomy, and more from ISU and across the nation in preparing their samples for analysis. It also provides microscopy services using highly specialized microscopes. 

To check out all of the 2025 entries, visit the facility’s social media gallery.

For more information on the Molecular Research Core Facility, visit isu.edu/mrcf/.