The 3D image obtained with the facility’s spectral confocal microscope recorded the first division of an oocyte, post-fertilization, awarded by the Society For The Study Of Reproduction.
The prestigious scientific group Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR), an organization that brings together researchers in the field of reproduction and development from around the world, has awarded a prize to the Catholic University of Maule (UCM) after winning the photography contest in the People’s Choice Award category, with the most voted photo among those selected.
Winning an award at such a relevant scientific event as the 57th Annual Congress of the society, held in Dublin, Ireland, represented a great satisfaction for the UCM. Dr. Ingrid Carvacho, academic and researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and director of the Ion Channels and Reproduction Laboratory, commented: “For our laboratory it is a tremendous pride, for the University as well, because it represents a collective effort to achieve better equipment and that this effort has resulted in the award of a contest of these characteristics with such a beautiful photo, is truly a pride and a tremendous emotion,” she stated.
Sebastián Vergara, a biotechnology engineer who graduated from the UCM and is currently a research assistant to Dr. Carvacho, explained the context in which the photo was taken: “It all started because we are doing oocyte activation tests. We chemically simulate the fertilization of an oocyte. After this protocol, the cell begins to divide as if it were a sperm that had fused. And that is what we get in the photo, precisely the first of many divisions that the cell will have to, later, give rise to an embryo (which in this case will not be completed due to the absence of sperm),” he commented.
Cutting-edge technology
To obtain this award-winning image, it was necessary to have cutting-edge equipment, such as that which the UCM has thanks to the award of the FONDEQUIP Mediano 2020 competition, which allowed the obtaining of a spectral confocal microscope.
Isabel Vidal, a biotechnology engineer and UCM graduate and manager of the Confocal Microscopy Laboratory, was in charge of obtaining this 3D image. “The idea of participating in an international competition, where the image was going to be visualized and expanded globally, motivated us a lot to capture a striking image that would significantly convey all the advances we have achieved both in research and with the equipment,” she said. Dr. Fernando Hinostroza, researcher and academic at the Maule Center for Advanced Research Studies (CIEAM), later helped with the digital processing of the image.
“It is extremely important to have the microscope. We do the previous work, which is the treatment and obtaining of these first two post-activation cells. But once we finish the experimental protocol, we need to see the result, and this can only be achieved, with the detail of the photograph, through a microscope of these characteristics,” added Sebastián Vergara.
On the importance of the image itself, Dr. Carvacho said: “In addition to the importance for our group and the studies we carry out, it serves as educational material for educational establishments and, above all, to position our university as an institution that conducts impactful research, that is, a complex university,” she said.
Finally, the academic recalled that when the winning photo was announced, the geographic locations where the image had been voted for were highlighted, showing a great participation both in Chile and in other places around the world. “It shows that our research and our image reached not only the national but also the international sphere,” she concluded.
It is worth noting that Dr. Ingrid Carvacho presented at the 57th annual SSR congress the progress of her research, which was made possible thanks to the work of the thesis students from the Laboratory of Ionic Channels and Reproduction (CIR), the Faculty of Medicine and the award of the FONDECYT Regular project 1221308. Additionally, the images that were presented and their subsequent analysis would not have been possible without the FONDEQUIP ANID EQM200122 project.
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