Congratulations to all the winners!
pART of Research calendar competition 2027
For the 11th time, doctoral researchers and postdocs at HHU were invited to submit their pictures for the pART of Research calendar competition. This year 18 pictures were handed in. Almost 1200 voters chose the twelve most popular ones. These will be printed in the pART of Research calendar 2027.
The calendar will be presented to the public at the University and State Library (ULB) Düsseldorf on October 6, 2026; at 11 am in presence of the participating researchers.
The calendar will be available free of charge from October 06, 2026 from the Heine Research Academies (iGRAD, philGRAD, medRSD and JUNO) as well as the Section Diversity and in the “Haus der Universität”.
Here are the 12 winning images,
selected for the calendar 2027!
Arbor vitae - Oocytes on their way to life
Alexandra Knebel, Iwona Scheliga, Dr. Jana Bender-Liebenthron, Dr. Dunja Baston-Büst, Prof. Dr. Alexandra P. Bielfeld
Department of OB/GYN and REI (UniKiD)
Doctoral Researchers of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
The image shows a human ovary stained using the Azan histological staining method, artistically rendered in a watercolor style. It illustrates how modern research makes microscopic tissue structures visible and reveals their aesthetic complexity.
Hidden among Scars: A Heart within the Heart
Lennart Gebert
Institute for Pharmacology
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Picrosirius red staining of a murine heart three weeks after myocardial infarction reveals collagen-rich scar formation in vivid crimson red. Residual blood within the left ventricle unexpectedly forms the silhouette of a heart within the heart. Even within deep scars, beauty remains.
A planet in a flask
Nina Stadler, Dr. Andreas Sebastian Klein
Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Sometimes, the daily routine in the laboratory carries us to other worlds. Then the molecules in our flask are not the antibiotic of the future, but a snow-covered landscape, mountains and valleys on a distant planet. Research Makes the Difference: it transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Think Pink!
Pia Heinrichs
Chair of Bioinorganic Chemistry
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Extraction and purification of bacterial carotenoids, giving them their pink colour. A really beautifiul project, but it makes the researcher work a lot in the dark, as those molecules are light sensitive.
The power of chance encounters
Anna Hamacher
Center for Advanced Imaging (CAi)
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
In a surreal world of glitter and dancing cell-tentacles, a seahorse meets a three-headed colleague for spontaneous networking. Like chance encounters at conferences or in break rooms, these moments can strongly shape research and scientific communities.
In the Spirit of Cotton: Pakhtakor Metro Station, Tashkent
Phillip Schroeder
Institute for Historical Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
The Pakhtakor metro station (opened in 1977) in Tashkent is adorned with an impressive mosaic along the entire length of the platform. “Pakhtakor” roughly translates as “cotton worker” and reflects the major role of cotton, which has shaped Uzbekistan’s economy and culture since the 19th century.
Volcanic Dice
Tom Förster
Institute for Inorganic Photoactive Materials
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
This image shows dice made of volcanic rock that glow when exposed to UV light due to defects in the material. This is meant to illustrate that, despite the absence of chance in science, many unexpected things can be discovered simply by shifting one's perspective (or the light) slightly.
Love literature - medieval style <3 ->
Dr. Katrin auf der Lake
Department of German Studies
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Tristan and Isolde — the famous lovers of European literature. In this medieval book from 1461, the scribe, who was not the author and who copied the text by hand, added a small note at the end of the text:
"id est T. I." - Medieval Love Story <3
Dialogue in the Epicardium – How Nerves and Glial Cells Shape the Heart
Kawa Bekirî, Dr. Katharina Scherschel
Institute of Neuro- and Sensory Physiology
Medical Faculty
What appears here to be an abstract biological structure from a science fiction film is actually a highly specialized network on the surface of the heart. The image reveals how closely the heart and the nervous system are interconnected — not only functionally, but also structurally.
From in vitro fertilization to healthy crops
Dr. Hanna Mozghovska
Institute for Molecular Physiology
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
In vitro fertilization of isolated rice gametes coupled with CRISPR/Cas9/Cpf1-RNP PEG-mediated delivery. This novel DNA-free approach enables precise zygotic editing, producing blast- and blight-resistant rice without transgene integration while preserving elite cultivar traits
Light as a feather
Dr. Sebastian Hänsch
Center for Advanced Imaging (CAi)
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
The image shows a feather-like hair from the filter organ of a fan shrimp. Using FLIM measurements at a light microscope, a new dimension is added as color. Like this, it is possible to identify trapped algae that exhibit very short fluorescence (cyan). Light captured in a microscopic feather.
Activated platelets adopting a striking Mike-Wazowski-like morphology
Tim Huckenbeck
Cardiovascular Research Laboratory
Medical Faculty
Shown is a 100-fold magnified human platelet. Upon activation, it develops characteristic pseudopodia—finger-like cellular protrusions that enable adhesion to vessel walls and interactions with other platelets during thrombus formation.