The Pernkopf Symposium

From Pernkopf (vol.2; 1980) after Batke (1940; fig. 237) & Lepier (n.d.; figs.225, 261) by L.Lax (1982)

On November 10, 2019 a symposium titled, The Vienna Protocol: Medicine’s Confrontation with Continuing Legacies of its Nazi Past (a.k.a. The Pernkopf Symposium), focusing on the legacy of Pernkopf’s Atlas of Topographical and Applied Human Anatomy, took place at the University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, sponsored by the Master of Science program in Biomedical Communications, in conjunction with the Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, and coordinated by Prof. Leila Lax. 

Read a summary of the symposium recently published in the Annals of Anatomy. 

• Hildebrandt, Sabine “The Vienna Protocol: Medicine’s confrontation with continuing legacies of its Nazi past", 10. November 2019, Annals of Anatomy (2020).

The Pernkopf Symposium presentations by international and local scholars were videoed and can be viewed here: https://www.leilalax.ca/research/pernkopf-symposium

For any inquiries, contact Leila Lax: l.lax@utoronto.ca  

NeuronBuild software creates accurate 3D neuron structures

Excerpt from an article by Maeve Doyle

NeuronBuild 1.8 dropped today and is available for immediate download from GitHub.com. This latest version includes bug fixes and new features. NeuronBuild is a plug-in script for the 3D modelling software Cinema 4D. The plug-in makes neuron structures stored in the online repository NeuroMorpho.org available to a new community of users.

Nicholas Woolridge, associate professor in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications at the University of Toronto Mississauga first wrote the software in 2013.

Photo credit: Maeve Doyle

“Science communicators can use NeuronBuild to populate their animations and illustrations with accurate neuron structures,” says Woolridge.

Neuroscientists interested in cell shape study neurons and record and plot their structures, or morphology. They publish their data to NeuroMorpho.org for access by other research scientists. NeuronBuild allows science communicators to choose a neuron datafile, select some options and import it into Cinema 4D.

“This tool democratizes data,” says Kent Moore, U of T Mississauga’s Vice-Principal, Research. “With access to real data, science communicators can share the knowledge to even more audiences such as students, other researchers and the public.”

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Fixes and features

Earlier versions of NeuronBuild only imported neurons. The plug-in can now reconstruct additional cell types, such as astrocytes.

One major new feature allows users to turn a representation into a single object, which makes texturing the cells easier. “This is really technical and specific to the user audience, but using NeuronBuild with Cinema 4D’s new volume system, you can turn the object into a single polygon mesh, which makes the structure easier to render,” says Woolridge.

Another new feature eases the process of creating dynamic representations such as growing neurons or animations of neural impulses.

Read the full article by Maeve Doyle

First-authored paper by Jerry Gu

Please join us in congratulating Jerry Gu on his first-authored paper supervised by Derek Ng!

Read the full paper at IUBMB Journals.

Abstract

Enzyme kinetics is the study of enzymatic catalytic rates in biochemical reactions. This biochemistry topic is commonly introduced to life science students early in their undergraduate education. Unlike most other biochemistry topics, which focus on visual structures of biomolecules and their processes, enzyme kinetics is explained primarily through abstract mathematical and two‐dimensional graphical plots. However, these abstract/symbolic representations often make it difficult for students to relate the kinetic parameters to the underlying molecular system that is being described. In this article, we present the design and development of a web‐based multimedia interactive learning tool, biomolecular interactive tutorials (BIOMINT) to help students better bridge the relationships between these abstract mathematical models and the molecular behaviors, interactions, and dynamics that produce kinetic phenomena. This learning tool can be accessed at https://bit.ly/biomint.

In Memoriam - Adrienne Alison (BScAAM 8T1) by Maeve Doyle

Adrienne Alison (BScAAM 8T1) is perhaps best known as the sculptor of the bronze and granite War of 1812 memorial on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

The bronze sculpture depicts representations of the unnamed Canadians who defended the country from the American invasion. The figures include a Métis fighter, a woman bandaging the arm of a Voltigeur of Quebec (a soldier in a temporary military unit), a Royal Navy sailor, a First Nations warrior, a militiaman and a member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

Body Language : the rise of the Biomedical Visualization via A/D/O

Naveen Devasagayam, Science Vis Lab.

“From Leonardo Da Vinci to augmented reality, the visual depictions of medicine and the complexities of the human body have evolved immensely, due in part to the growth of parallel design industries – illustration, graphic design, animation, 3D modeling and software engineering – as well as research advances in the fields of ethnography, psychology, and of course, medicine. Artists since the time of Da Vinci have continuously lent their hand and talent to the depiction of medical environments and phenomena, and today, thanks to advanced rendering tools and visualization techniques, medical imagery has the ability to empower and engage its audiences in completely new ways, while communicating complex happenings in ways that are easier to digest and respond to.”

— Chloé Vadot - A/D/O

Physics indicates some of Earth’s earliest animals helped each other feed

Read how physics indicates some of Earth’s earliest animals helped each other feed and check out the illustrations for the article by our very own #BMC faculty member prof. Dave Mazierski!

Read full article.

The Abominable Snafu arrives! Supporting the Vesalius Trust

This year the Vesalius Trust, the organization that provides research and scholarship funding to students involved in the visual communication of science, is holding a Crowdrise competition to raise funds for their scholarship programs. Each accredited graduate program has a team of faculty and students concocting a beast, and the teams will create a 6-page comic featuring the beast live, in front of a crowd, at this summer’s Association of Medical Illustrator’s Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our team is called BeastMC, and consists of Alexander Young, Jenny Chin, Amy, Cao, Colleen Tang Poy, Michael Corrin, and Nicholas Woolridge.

Our entry is The Abominable Snafu! representing the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program.

Just what is the The Abominable Snafu? It embodies the fears of illustrators on a deadline everywhere. Inconvenient ink splats? Issues with weights? Spinning beach ball or blue screen of death? You name it, this creature feeds off medical illustrator stress hormones. Normally just innocuous or pesky, it can grow to terrifying size just before a deadline. Defeating the Abominable Snafu is a high priority for all medical illustrators! This particular subspecies originates in Canada, identifiable by its Canadian Goose feet and slushy snowy body—a staple of its Toronto habitat. 

Creating an exciting tale using the Abominable Snafu is our way of giving back to the Vesalius Trust for supporting our students—and those from the other accredited programs—over the years; please help us give back and donate to our campaign, or that of one of the other programs (UIC, JHU, and Augusta)!

Dr. Shelley Wall promoted to Associate Professor, Research Stream

The Master of Science in Biomedical Communications is delighted to share that Dr. Shelley Wall has been promoted to Associate Professor and has been granted tenure.

Professor Wall’s research interests are in the medical humanities, specifically in the area of graphic medicine. A selection of her visual work can be seen on her website.

The BMC community heartily congratulates Professor Wall on this achievement!