Living Anatomy Workshop

Anatomical illustrations on a life model that depict the muscles beneath the skin. Photo credit: N. Woolridge

On Friday, April 17, 2015, the Master of Science in Biomedical Communication (MScBMC) at the University of Toronto hosted a Surface Anatomy Workshop for students and faculty. Yvan Freund led the “living écorché” session.

Freund, a medical illustrator from Strasbourg and an instructor in the scientific illustration program at the Haute école des arts du Rhin, visited Toronto for a week. He presented on his career and on the structure of the program in Strasbourg.

Coordinated by Shelley Wall, MScBMC assistant professor, a lecture hall and spotlights were reserved, a riser was borrowed from the Erindale Studio Theatre, and an artist’s model was engaged. Participants took turns painting muscles, tendons, and bones directly onto the model’s body.

The basic musculoskeletal anatomy refresher provided an opportunity to see living anatomy in practice. It helped participants to think critically about how underlying anatomy effects overlying surface appearance, especially in the context of a living, moving body.

The workshop provided a stimulating and educational break for students from their master’s research projects.

BMC Surface Anatomy Workshop Video: https://vimeo.com/125353847

MScBMC student named to Top 25 in Storytellers Challenge

by Maeve Doyle

Naveen Devasagayam, a Master of Science in Biomedical Communications student, has been named to the Top 25 finalists in the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC’s) 2015 Storytellers challenge.

SSHRC’s unique annual competition challenges postsecondary students from across the country to demonstrate—in up to three minutes or 300 words—how SSHRC-funded research makes a difference in the lives of Canadians. The Top 25 finalists receive a cash prize and go on to compete in The Storytellers Showcase, May 30 to June 5 at the University of Ottawa. The Top 5 finalists will present before a VIP audience at the SSHRC Impact Awards Ceremony in Ottawa this fall.

Devasagayam, a second year graduate student in Professor Jodie Jenkinson’s Science Visualization group at the University of Toronto Mississauga, submitted a three-minute animation to the competition. In “Visualizing Biological Data”, Devasagayam explains the importance of dynamic learning tools such as animations. Animations can help students visualize interactions that occur at multiple levels of time and space.

“Naveen’s work will contribute to our understanding of how manipulating visual context can impact upon the viewer’s perception of interactions within a cellular environment,” Jenkinson says.

Supported by Jenkinson’s SSHRC Insight Award, Devasagayam’s master’s research project explores approaches to depicting a molecular pathway from start to finish. Devasagayam is developing two 3D animations—one immersive and one cross-sectional—to portray a dynamic process. The different animations will be evaluated by Jenkinson’s lab.

“By giving students the tools to effectively understand these complex concepts,” Devasagayam says, “we hope that they can use this knowledge or gain new insight to improve healthcare and create new discoveries in science, all of which can help Canadians in the long run.”

First published in UTM News April 2, 2015:
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/main-news/utm-graduate-student-named-top-25-storytellers-challenge

Translational Research Program, IMS

The new Master of Health Science in Translational Research, offered through the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, is designed for students who want to build on scientific discoveries to introduce, test and evaluate problem-solving designs that improve people’s health. The program is an ideal option for those who want to apply their scientific interests and knowledge to careers outside traditional academic paths, and for faculty who need help translating their work.

For more information about the program, please visit: http://trp.utoronto.ca/.

The Visual Scientist

Faces of U of T Medicine is a series that profiles Faculty of Medicine students with unique stories to tell. Their profile of Vijay Shahani, Ph.D., Year II BMC student, is featured at:

http://medicine.utoronto.ca/news/faces-u-t-medicine-vijay-shahani

BMC Content Advisor Wins Science Award

BMC Content Advisor, Molly Shoichet, was named this year’s recipient of the L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science award.

Most recently, Shoichet, a biomedical engineering researcher and Canada Research Chair, acted as content advisor on Karyn (1T4) Ho’s master’s research project, “Nanoparticle Targeting to Breast Cancer”. Shoichet also supervised Ho’s Ph.D. research.

The University Professor was also content advisor on Julie Hyun Joo (0T7) Lee’s project, “Across the Gap”. In this 3D animation, Lee visualizes the proposed use of axon guidance for the treatment of spinal cord injury.

For more information, see ‘Molly Shoichet wins L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award‘.

Seminar – VizMol: Data Visualization for Molecular Structure Analysis

Our first candidate for the Biomedical Communications/Biology position will  present a seminar at the University of Toronto Mississauga:

Wednesday, March 11, 2015
10 to 11 am
Council Chambers, DV 3130

Bio

Derek Ng completed a Ph.D. in biochemistry where he examined the molecular factors that contribute to membrane protein folding and disease. He is currently developing and evaluating tools and methodologies that employ data visualization and interaction principles for knowledge discovery in molecular biology. Derek believes that art and design can be powerful vehicles for exploring, understanding, and communicating complex scientific and biomedical information.

Link to Online Profile:

http://www.rxnstudio.com/

Med Monthly magazine publishes article by MScBMC alumna

Med Monthly published “The Art of Medicine – Medical Illustration for Effective Communication” by MScBMC alumna Diana (0T8) Kryski in their January 2015 issue.

BMC alumna models the mystery of hagfish slime

Betty Lee, Biomedical Communications alumna, visualized research findings that solved part of a century-old slime mystery.

Lee, and her scientific visualization group at the University of Southern California (USC), used 3D modelling to reconstruct hagfish slime gland thread cells. She provided art direction for the research article published in the scientific journal “Nature Communications”.

Researchers at the University of Guelph learned how the protein threads secreted by the hagfish are organized at the cellular level. This discovery brings science closer to producing synthetic versions of hagfish threads that could provide sustainable alternatives to existing fibres made from petroleum feedstocks.

Lee, who graduated with her MScBMC in 2003, is currently Art Director at the Institute for Neuroimaging and Information at USC.

by Maeve Doyle

MScBMC student designs an eBook with buzz

The Smithsonian Science Education Center published an eBook this past August designed and illustrated by Lauren DiVito, a University of Toronto Mississauga graduate student. In Expedition: Insects, a textbook for Grades 3 to 5, students travel the world to visit six different types of insects in their natural habitats.

“Expedition: Insects reached number 1 on the Australian iBooks’ Top Charts for free textbooks,” said Ashley Deese, the Center’s interactive media producer, “and peaked at number 8 on the Top Charts in Canada.”

For ten weeks this past summer, DiVito, a student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program, lived in Washington, D.C. DiVito interned in the publications division at the Smithsonian Science Education Center where she worked as part of an interdisciplinary team, led by Deese, to create an eBook on insects.

DiVito, whose background is in chemistry and visual arts, began by researching the flora and fauna of each geographical location to ensure that the insects were depicted in scientifically accurate environments. Next, DiVito sketched the insects and environments with traditional pencil and paper. She then revised the sketches until she was satisfied with the architecture of a scene. To create the final images, DiVito used digital illustration software and technologies.

Fellow team members wrote the text, added the animation, photos, videos and the interactive components to DiVito’s images. They produced the eBook using Apple’s iBooks software. Entomologists and education specialists at the Smithsonian verified and edited the team’s research.

“Not only did I need to use my creativity,” said DiVito, “but the research skills emphasized by the BMC program played a huge role in all the projects I took on at the Smithsonian.”

Now in the second year of the Biomedical Communications Program, DiVito’s master’s research project will focus on the creation of an interactive exhibit for the Royal Ontario Museum.

“Like my work for the Smithsonian,” said DiVito, “this project is being created for the public and has to be informative, interactive, and most of all, fun to use.”

Expedition: Insects can be downloaded free for iPads or Macs from Apple’s iBooks store.

First published in UTM News October 7, 2014:
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/main-news/mscbmc-student-designs-ebook-buzz

by Maeve Doyle

Biomedical illustrators draw top honours at AMI 2014

Biomedical Communications (BMC) brought home top honours from AMI2014.  The Association of Medical Illustrators recognized outstanding work by a BMC graduate student and faculty member at the recent annual meeting. AMI2014 took place July 23-26 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Kateryna Procunier, a first-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program, won the “Orville Parkes Best of Show” award for her piece, “The Clinical Significance of the Formation and Growth of a Vestibular Schwannoma.”

“I didn’t believe it at first, and had to double-check the list of winners to make sure,” said Procunier.

The artwork depicts the four stages of progression and structural effects of growth of a vestibular schwannoma, a benign tumour involving the cells that insulate and support the vestibular nerve of the inner ear. The illustrations show how the tumour is formed, and the ear and nerve structures the tumour affects as it develops. Procunier digitally painted the piece, which is intended for use in an anatomy textbook for medical students.

“This really is a remarkable piece,” said Nicholas Woolridge, director of the Biomedical Communications program. “It clearly explains the growth of a tumour in a complex, tiny space deep in the skull.”

BMC assistant professor Jodie Jenkinson, with her co-investigator, Gaël McGill of Harvard Medical School, received the “2014 Literary Award” for their outstanding article, “Using 3D Animation in Biology Education: Examining the Effects of Visual Complexity in the Representation of Dynamic Molecular Events.” The editorial board of The Journal of Biocommunication selects the award winner from the scholarly articles published in the journal in the preceding year.

BMC graduate students and alumni also won in multiple categories at the Salon Exhibit that opened the meeting. Kateryna Procunier, Qingyang Chen, Natalie Cormier, Megan Kirkland, Man-San Ma, Brendan Polley, and Andrew Tubelli, and alumni Jerusha Ellis and Stuart Jantzen, represented the BMC program with their winning pieces in multiple student categories.

Winners in the professional categories included alumni Kate Campbell and Ian Suk, and BMC industry partners and employers of BMC alumni, Artery Studios, AXS Studio Inc., and INVIVO Communications.

by Maeve Doyle

First published in UTM News August 7, 2014:
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/main-news/utm-biomedical-illustrators-win-top-honours-ami2014