The finest science is not just intelligent—it’s extraordinary. Don’t take our word for it! For 28 years, Wellcome has hosted its annual photography competition, showcasing impactful images that highlight health, science, and medicine.
The Wellcome Photography Prize delves into various topics, including mental health care and the everyday experiences of living with disabilities. This year, we’re thrilled to reintroduce the biomedical imaging category, offering a chance to appreciate the beauty of science alongside intricate medical visuals. Additional categories include “Solo Photography” and “Storytelling Series.”
Among the highlights is the first non-invasive image of microplastics buried within human skin and a poignant journey to the Peruvian Andes, where Indigenous farmers combine traditional wisdom with innovative science to combat water pollution.
The winners will be unveiled on July 16th, 2025, followed by a free public exhibition at the Francis Crick Institute in London from July 17th to October 18th.
A total of 25 images have secured the prestigious top prize this year. And here’s our favorite.
Blooming Barrier by Lucy Holland
Tissue samples taken from infants affected by Hirschsprung’s disease, a condition impacting goblet cell development and leading to long-term digestive issues. – Photo Credit: Lucy Holland/Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
From Butterflies to Humans by Amaia Alcalde Anton
This image captures the brain of a metamorphosing butterfly, where new neurons are generated through neurogenesis—a process observed in various species during growth and maturity. – Photo Credit: Amaia Alcalde Anton/Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
I Have You Under My Skin: Microplastics in Mammalian Tissues by P Stephen Patrick and Olumide Ogunlade
This groundbreaking non-invasive image reveals the presence of turquoise plastic particles deep within a living mouse. Biomedical researchers Patrick and Ogunlade have pioneered photoacoustic imaging techniques that utilize laser interactions with samples to visualize microplastics. – Photo Credit: P. Stephen Patrick and Olumide Ogunlade/Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
Liver Cholesterol by Steve Gschmeissner
This depiction by Steve Gschmeissner illustrates blue cholesterol crystals in a human liver, with lipid cell structures. The lipid droplet measures approximately 12 micrometers wide. – Photo Credit: Steve Gschmeissner/Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
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Submarine Heat by Jander Matos and Joaquim Nascimento
Captured by researchers Jander Matos and Joaquim Nascimento at the Bioimaging Lab in Brazil, this image reveals the egg (0.56 mm wide) of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a known carrier of diseases such as dengue and Zika. The yellow details in the egg indicate nodules that provide nutrients for survival in water. – Photo Credit: Jander Matos and Joaquim Nascimento/Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
Organoids by Oliver Mex and Nicole Ottawa
Photographed by Oliver Mex alongside biologist Nicole Ottawa, this organoid mimics the uterine lining and is colored for realistic representation. The organoid measures 0.2 mm in width. – Photo Credit: Oliver Mex and Nicole Ottawa/Welcome Photography Award 2025
Brixton Road, Lambeth in Southern London by Marina Vitaglione
Created by Marina Vitaglione in collaboration with Joseph Levermore and scientists from the Imperial College Environmental Research Group, this image visualizes contaminating particles (less than 0.01 mm) magnified from Brixton Road, London. It highlights these “invisible killers.” – Photo Credit: Marina Vitaglione/Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
Ice and Fire Record by Ingrid Augusto, Kildare Rocha de Miranda, and Vania Da Silva Vieira
This image illustrates the internal structure of *Trypanosoma cruzi*, the parasite responsible for Chagas disease, which is transmitted through contaminated food or bites from certain insects. Untreated, it can lead to serious cardiac and digestive conditions. – Photo Credit: Ingrid Augusto, Kildare Rocha de Miranda, Vania Da Silva Vieira/Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
Nemo’s Garden by Giacomo D’Orlando
Nemo’s Garden is the pioneering underwater greenhouse system located in Liguria, Italy, designed to explore agricultural solutions for regions facing challenges in plant cultivation. The findings showcase how submerged plants possess higher antioxidant levels than their land-grown counterparts, aiding in drug development. – Photo Credit: Giacomo D’Orlando/Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
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Ciril Jazbec’s Dream of Curing Water
This series by Slovenian documentary photographer Ciril Jazbec investigates the health impacts of rapidly melting glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca Mountain Range, threatening water supplies with heavy metals accumulated over centuries. Peru houses most of the world’s tropical glaciers, vital for mountain farming communities. Climate change has led to a 40% reduction in glacier surface area since the 1970s. – Photo Credit: Ciril Jazbec / Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
Stereo EEG Self-Portrait by Muir Vidler
This self-portrait by UK photographer Muir Vidler captures his experience after electrode implantation into the brain for epilepsy treatment—a procedure used when medication fails. He documented this photo on the first day following electrode insertion, which he had to keep for a week. – Photo Credit: Muir Vidler / Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
Find a Life by Sandipani Chattopadhyay
This poignant image shows locals gathering water from the riverbed in Purulia, West Bengal, India. Climate change has disrupted the monsoon patterns, leading to dry rivers and forcing many communities to search for drinkable water. – Photo Credit: Sandipani Chattopadhyay / Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
This Is Endometriosis – 2014 – 2022: Five Years by Georgie Wilman
This self-portrait by UK photographer Georgie Wilman notes the dates of her scars resulting from endometriosis surgery. Affecting one in ten women and females assigned at birth, endometriosis is often downplayed as “painful periods,” a phrase that fails to encapsulate its severity, which causes internal bleeding and damage to organs. Wilman’s imagery powerfully conveys the struggles and impacts of living with endometriosis. – Photo Credit: Georgie Wileman / Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
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Beautiful Disasters by Alexandru Popescu
This aerial view depicts a former village in the Loopa area, Transylvania, Romania. In 1977, Nicolae Ceaușescu forcibly relocated its 1,000 residents to create a toxic waste lake linked to Roșia Poieni copper mine. The lake grows approximately 100 cm annually, jeopardizing local groundwater quality. – Photo Credit: Alexandru Popescu / Wellcome Photography Prize 2025
