2022 Tree of Life Competition
To encourage community, creativity and support for wellbeing we ran a competition to create biological decorations for our trees. Pieces were judged anonymously based on originality and beauty, to also reflect themes in our Department.
“This competition far exceeded our expectations for a second time in terms of participation and skill level. Everyone deserved a prize and we were delighted by the entrants. We chose three that stood out in terms of skill level, visual appeal, creativity and humour while reflecting the reality of life in our Department..”
Judges: Professor Fran Platt, Dr Barbara Zonta and Dr Lizzie Burns
Winners
 | A Laptop from Lauren Dumbleton, Professional and Support Team use of computers in our work and accounts. They liked the use of pen in the piece. |
 | Mini Macsquant from Sally Allison, DPhil student in the Emptage Lab |
 | ‘Santa spin his spin c-elves’ - Anezka Macey-Dare, DPhil Student in the Anthony lab Anezka: "Santa and his helper elves were inspired by the Red (RFP) and green (GFP) labelled spiny projection neurons we are studying in our lab. Looking under the microscope I often see these two beautifully labelled different cell populations of red and green cells which I always thought looked Christmassy! I wanted to capture this “Christmas” magic with a fun comical twist." An imaginative and playful piece combining science and getting into the festive spirit in a very creative way. |
Other entrants
We include photos of all the pieces submitted to enjoy. Other pieces include celebrating the hope of research in developing new medicines to help patients in the future.
| Take a look at this colourful detailed cell |  |
| Simple ‘target' |  |
| ‘Advances in medicine’ |  |
| ‘The magic bullet’ |  |