Introducing the 2024 Mass General Research Institute Image Awards

2024 MGRI Image Awards

Experience science through art

MGB RESEARCHERS SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY HERE

EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY HERE

Submission period

September 1 - October 31

People's Choice Voting

CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES

Image Awards Gala

January TBD

Submissions open until October 31.

The Mass General Research Institute (MGRI) Image Awards were established to showcase the breadth of research occurring across Massachusetts General Hospital.

Every day, our clinicians and investigators are pushing the boundaries of science and medicine to develop solutions to the world’s most pressing health challenges. What better way to provide a window into their world?

While we love to spotlight your stunning closeups of cells and organs, we also encourage you to submit group shots, videos, creative artwork or anything else that illustrates your research.

In past years, many of our award-winning images were selected based on the stories that accompanied them, so make sure to send us a great description, too.

Learn more about the 2024 Awards below and get those images ready—the submission period opens on September 1st!

Rainbows in Unexpected Places by Joshua Spitzberg, PhD, MS,.

Human Heart Cells from iPSCs
Guoping Li, PhD
Cardiovascular Research Center
PI: Saumya Das, MD, PhD

2024 Image Categories

People's Choice (automatic entry)

UPDATE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, our team has made the decision to discontinue People's Choice Voting for 2024. Instead, we have decided to allow for more finalists in each category to make up for it. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding.

In past years, we have held a live, public vote on Facebook, and the image with the most votes will receive the People’s Choice award. This year, we will host a voting form through our page available to anyone who works at Mass General Brigham.

All eligible images entered into the Awards will automatically be included in the voting. Images will go live on Monday, November 8, 2024, and public voting (via a form located on the page on our blog) will continue through November 29th.

*See below for rules about public voting

Mixed Media (videos, paintings, cartoons, etc)

This category is dedicated to content such as short videos (<1 min), poetry, cartoons, comics, and artwork. For submissions in this category, please submit a video or an image file to the submissions folder. This can include images of the mixed media for items such as paintings, sculptures or something we haven't even thought of yet. (A Peeps-based diorama of the Ether Dome, maybe?)

A Closer Look

This category is dedicated to images that provide an up-close look into the world of science that the public doesn’t often see. Images in this category can include cells, tissues, high resolution scans, images of devices and equipment or anything else related to your research that deserves a closer look.

H. Fueling the Fight Glutamine’s Critical Role in Brain Tumor Metabolism (1)

In the Eye of the Storm by Jasmin Richter

Humans of MGRI

This category is dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the scientists and support staff who make invaluable contributions to our understanding of medicine, and showcasing the human side of research and life in the lab. Submissions can include team photos and candid shots to interesting glimpses into life as a scientist and maintaining a work-life balance.

22Pooladanda_Janitor Avengers of Mass General Hospital_Venkatesh Pooladanda (1)

Science As Art

Many of our researchers have expressed interest in art and photography outside of their scientific roles, making the Science As Art category a perfect opportunity to blend the two worlds.

This category celebrates creativity, so almost anything goes as long as it is the original work of a Mass General community member!

Images we have previously received that would fit into this category include, drawings, paintings, digital illustrations, photography or mixed medium pieces.

Friends et. al.

What would we do without our research collaborators? This new category celebrates the partnership and teamwork with our collaborators from Mass General Brigham and beyond. To participate in this category, you must be a researcher associated with MGB, or the image submitted must depict a project/idea that directly involved collaboration with MGH investigators/research groups. *Please note that MGB researchers not affiliated with MGH, collaborators and external partners may only submit images to this category

TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY AS SOMEONE FROM MGB, CLICK HERE

TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY AS AN EXTERNAL COLLABORATOR CLICK HERE

Image Awards Rules

To be eligible for the Image Awards, you must be a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital or an affiliated center. Participants can submit a maximum of three images/mixed media, and a complete form must be submitted with each image/entry.

All photos should be submitted as a high-quality JPEG or TIF file at a minimum of 300 dpi. To check the quality of the image, right click on the image and check the properties. The DPI will be listed in the details. We reserve the right to exclude entries based on image quality.

In order to be considered for use in public-facing materials, images must be copyright free. If the image has been used by a journal or other entity, it is reserved for internal use only (internal display in research spaces).

By entering the 2024 Mass General Research Institute Image Awards, you retain the rights to your works while granting Massachusetts General Hospital and its affiliates the unrestricted, royalty-free, perpetual right to use, reproduce, communicate, modify and display the works (in whole or in part) for any purpose without any fee or other form of compensation, and without further notification or permission.

MGRI team members constantly monitor the performance of Image Awards entries during the voting process. If a participant is suspected of artificially inflating their People’s Choice vote tally during the contest, MGRI reserves the right to disqualify the participant/entry. Play fair and have fun!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the MGRI Image Awards?

The MGRI Image Awards (formerly the MGRI Image Contest) were established in 2018 to celebrate the breath and depth of scientific research at Massachusetts General Hospital. The hope is that through beautiful images, we can make more people aware of the vast and varied research that takes place here at the hospital—and meaningful stories about the science and people who make this organization one-of-a-kind

In past years, some of the most popular images were selected as finalists because of their accompanying story, so we highly encourage creativity and speaking from the heart when creating your image description!

Who is eligible to submit an image?

What are the categories to submit images?

The submission categories are:

* Humans of MGRI: The MGRI would be nothing without the incredible people in our research community. This category is dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the scientists and support staff who make invaluable contributions to our understanding of medicine, and showcasing the human side of research and life in the lab. Submissions can include team photos and candid shots to interesting glimpses into life as a scientist and maintaining a work-life balance.

* People’s Choice: This award is determined via public voting on our online platform. The image with the most votes wins this category. The overall goal of public voting is to engage everyone at Mass General Brigham in research, so please share with your colleagues and encourage them to vote for you! Have fun, play fair, and don't take this contest too seriously.

* A Closer Look: This category is dedicated to images that provide an up-close look into the world of science that the public doesn’t often see. Images in this category can include cells, tissues, high-resolution scans, images of devices and equipment or anything else related to your research that deserves a closer look

* Science as Art: Many of our researchers have expressed interest in art and photography outside of their scientific roles, making the Science As Art category a perfect opportunity to blend the two worlds. This category celebrates creativity, so almost anything goes as long as it is the original work of a Mass General community member!

* Mixed Media: This category is dedicated to content other than just images, such as short videos (<1 min), poetry, cartoons, comics, and artwork. For submissions in this category, please submit a video or an image file to the submissions folder. This can include images of the mixed media for items such as paintings.

* Friends et. al.: What would we do without our research collaborators? This new category celebrates the partnership and teamwork with our collaborators across the bridge and city from MGH. In order to participate in this category, the image submitted must depict a project/idea that directly involved collaboration with MGH investigators/research groups. *Please note non-MGH individuals, collaborators and external partners may only submit images to this category

How should I submit my image?

To submit an image entry to our Image Awards, please fill out the form linked above. Images without a corresponding form will NOT be considered.

***IF YOU ARE A COLLABORATOR/NON-MGH INDIVIDUAL: Please use the form located under the "Friends et. al." category description.

All photos should be submitted as a high-quality JPEG or TIF file at a minimum of 300 dpi. To check the quality of the image, right click on the image and check the properties. The DPI will be listed in the details. We reserve the right to exclude entries based on image quality.

Participants can submit a maximum of three images, and a complete form must be submitted with each image/entry.

What is the timeline for the Image Awards?

Who owns the images?

In order to be considered for use in public-facing materials, images must be copyright free. If the image has been used by a journal or other entity, it is reserved for internal use only (internal display in research spaces).

By entering the Mass General Research Institute Image Awards, you retain the rights to your works while granting Massachusetts General Hospital and its affiliates the unrestricted, royalty-free, perpetual right to use, reproduce, communicate, modify and display the works (in whole or in part) for any purpose without any fee or other form of compensation, and without further notification or permission

How are winners chosen?

What images should be submitted?

Each contributor may submit up to five visuals. Submissions may be any visuals generated through the contributor’s own research, including micrographs, renderings, and any other forms of data. Submissions must relate to the research, but may do so by depicting any number of subjects using any number of imaging/visualization technologies. High resolution images are required for display in the Public Galleries—the more pixels, the better. When appropriate, preference will be given to cancer research projects.

What happens to submitted images?

I need some inspiration, where can I find it?

About the Mass General Research Institute

Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. The goal of our research is to better understand human health and disease and to identify new strategies for prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Your support will help us pursue new and unproven areas of research that could lead to the next game-changing breakthroughs.

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