Journal of Microscopy names 2025 Early Career Researcher award winners

The Journal of Microscopy has announced the winners of its 2025 Early Career Researcher ‘Best Paper’ awards, recognising outstanding contributions in both life and physical sciences.

In the life sciences category, Dr Elnaz Fazeli received the award for her paper From cells to pixels: A decision tree for designing bioimage analysis pipelines, which proposes a structured framework to help researchers better link biological questions with appropriate image analysis approaches.

The work highlights a common challenge in microscopy workflows: bridging the gap between biologists generating complex imaging data and analysts responsible for extracting quantitative information. By categorising image features and linking them to suitable analytical strategies, the framework aims to improve communication and workflow design in bioimage analysis.

Dr Fazeli said the project began as an informal exchange among international collaborators and developed into a practical guide shaped by everyday challenges in microscopy core facilities.

In the physical sciences category, Dr Alexandra Sheader was recognised for her paper Subcellular localisation and identification of single atoms using quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy, which demonstrates the detection and mapping of individual heavy atoms within biological tissue using calibrated STEM imaging.

The study shows how quantitative electron microscopy techniques can be used to trace platinum-based drug accumulation at the subcellular level, highlighting both the sensitivity and complexity of atomic-scale imaging in biological systems.

“This study shows that quantitative STEM imaging can identify and map individual atoms within biological tissue,” said Dr Alexandra Sheader. “It allowed us to track platinum from a Pt-based drug at the subcellular level and observe how it accumulates inside cells.” 

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