Art of Science: Radiant Architects

At first glance, the glowing strands in Laura Fontenas’ Art of Science image appear familiar, a web of cells stretching through what looks like a developing nervous system. But that initial assumption is exactly what the FAU neuroscientist hopes viewers will question.

“They look like neurons, but they’re not,” said Fontenas, Ph.D., an assistant professor in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. “These are radial glial cells - and they are the architects of the nervous system.”

Fontenas’ image, Radiant Architects, earned recognition in FAU’s annual Art of Science competition by revealing a critical yet often overlooked truth in neuroscience - neurons do not build the brain alone. Glial cells are the heavy lifters, and the unsung heroes. They lay the foundation for neurons, generate new neurons, guide them into place and support them for life.

The balance between scientific accuracy and accessibility is central to Fontenas’ approach to both research and her art, wanting images to be precise while also inviting curiosity from non-scientists.

By illuminating the unseen builders of the brain, Radiant Architects reframes how audiences think about neuroscience - and about discovery itself. For Fontenas, the image is both a scientific statement and an invitation: to look beyond what is familiar, to question assumptions, and to recognize that understanding the brain requires seeing the whole system and not just its most famous parts. In doing so, her work underscores the power of visual art to transform complex research into a shared moment of wonder - where science becomes not only something to study, but something to see.

“I want everyone to be able to see and enjoy the science,” she said. “Art gives us the freedom to think about inclusion as well as aesthetics. I hope people, both academics and non-academics, will pause, look closer and ask, ‘What am I actually seeing?’”