Vall d’Hebron exhibits a collection of 10 years of scientific photographs at Palau Robert

In 2011 the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) launched a scientific photography competition that is still held today. In these 10 years, more than 600 photographs have been submitted to the competition, of which 120 have been winners and are now part of the exhibition 'The other look of research' (L’altra Mirada de la recerca’) that hosts the Palau Robert since January 13 until February 28th.

These images make an artistic account of what scientists see, experience and research in their daily lives, in real image or through the microscope. “With the desire to show our research to society, this photographic competition was born. And it is the same goal we have now with this exhibition: to disseminate research and connect with society through the beauty of the scientific images that have emerged from our laboratories”, explains Dr. Joan Comella, director of the VHIR.

Over the past 10 years, more than 600 photographs taken by researchers and research support staff have been submitted. Each year, a jury made up of Vall d’Hebron Campus staff and external photography professionals selects the 12 best photographs and the winning image is chosen by popular vote. The 12 photographs are used to illustrate an annual calendar and to decorate the different spaces of the Vall d’Hebron research buildings.

"The images, which have emerged from the microscopic world, are of striking beauty. Where a priori, there is only information about particles, tissues, molecules… we can find exotic landscapes that we could never imagine in our environment. Scientific images allow us to travel to another dimension and people are grateful that we show them what only researchers can see”, says Dr. Víctor F. Puntes, head of the CIBBIM Nanomedicine, Pharmacokinetic Nanoparticles research group at the VHIR and one of the researchers who has participated most in the Vall d’Hebron scientific photography competition.

For her part, another regular researcher in the competition, Dra. Patricia Bogdanov, from the Diabetes and Metabolism research group at the VHIR, believes that “this competition is very important because it gives visibility to a job that is very silent, biomedical research. These photographs bring us closer to the beauty of research in some way".

“This exhibition is an honor, a pride and at the same time serves to thank all the professionals who have wanted to participate during all the editions. Finally, we hope that it can also generate new vocations among young people", concludes Dr. Comella.

The exhibition ‘The Other Look of Research’ can be visited at the Palau Robert Showcase from Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 8 pm and on Sundays and public holidays from 9 am to 2.30 pm.