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IDRM Researcher Named Finalist in BHF’s Reflections of Research Image Competition
Selin Tüzüner, a DPhil student in the Simões Group at IDRM and the Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, has been selected as a finalist in the British Heart Foundation’s Reflections of Research competition. Her scientific image, From blueprint to beating - engineering human cardiac development in a dish, was exhibited in London as part of the event’s 20th-anniversary celebration.
The annual competition invites BHF-funded researchers to reveal the hidden beauty of cardiovascular science through compelling visual storytelling. The shortlisted images for 2025 have been featured on the BHF website.
Selin’s image showcases a cardiac organoid, an early, miniature heart-like structure grown from reprogrammed human stem cells. Using whole-organoid immunofluorescent staining and advanced confocal imaging, she captured the emerging interplay between magenta-labelled vascular networks and green-stained cardiac muscle cells.
Selin Tüzüner said: "This organoid mimics key aspects of an embryonic human heart and was created by precisely timing the delivery of specific biological signals to guide the stem cells' development. At just a fraction of a millimetre in size (note the 100 μm scale bar), this tiny structure demonstrates nature's remarkable blueprint for building our most vital organ."
Selin's research explores the fundamental mechanisms of human heart development, an intricate process that has largely remained a "black box" due to the challenges of studying the forming human heart in real time. Cardiac organoids, such as the one in Selin's image, provide an unprecedented window into this mysterious developmental journey. By creating these miniature heart-like structures in the lab, researchers can observe and manipulate key developmental factors and cellular players that orchestrate heart formation.
Selin said: "Understanding these developmental processes could reveal why congenital heart defects occur and potentially lead to new approaches for regenerative therapies that mimic natural heart development."
At the London exhibition, Selin’s image was paired with the story of a football-loving young boy born with a congenital heart defect. After the event, Selin commented, "Meeting his parents at the exhibition was deeply moving. Hearing their story brought a powerful sense of perspective, a reminder of why it is so important to communicate our science and how deeply people care about understanding the research that may one day change lives."
Please join us in congratulating Selin on this fantastic achievement!