Vesalius Trust 2023 grant and scholarship recipients

The Master of Science in Biomedical Communications is proud to announce that the following Class of 2023 graduate students were awarded Vesalius Trust research grants and scholarships.

Vesalian Scholars

Linda Ding & Livia Nguyen

Vesalius Trust Research Grantees

Amy Jiao
Anaïs Lupu
Emily Tjan
Xinyi Li

The Vesalius Trust provides grant funding to students enrolled in medical illustration programs and who have completed one year of the curriculum. These competitive grants are awarded annually and help fund the students' research projects and masters’ theses.

Congratulations Linda, Livia, Amy, Ana and Emily!

2023 BMC speaker series: Sam Bond, Clinical Assistant Professor and Certified Medical Illustrator, University of Illinois at Chicago

Sam Bond, Unity game developer and Certified Medical Illustrator

What You're Doing Wrong (in the Unity Game Engine)!

Have you ever wanted to use the Unity game engine but felt too overwhelmed to get started?

Have you used Unity and felt frustrated by the enormous documentation or the convoluted internet-forum troubleshooting?

In this talk, I will discuss the Unity game engine from a complete beginner’s perspective: the vocabulary needed to discuss the program, the potential products you can create in your first month working with Unity, and the six things you might be doing wrong when getting started! Whether you’ve always been too intimidated to download Unity, or you’ve been working with it under frustration for years, attendees should expect to gain an understanding of Unity’s potential in visualization and some pro tips and tricks to keep your beginner experiences flowing smoothly!

Date and Time:
Friday, April 21, 2023
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET
One-hour presentation including Q&A.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/bmc-speaker-series-2023-what-youre-doing-wrong-in-the-unity-game-engine-tickets-617855391107

2023 BMC Speaker Series 2023 full program: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2023/01/30/bmc-speakers-2023

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Sam Bond is a Certified Medical Illustrator and Unity game developer who strives to create meaningful and intentional educational experiences. After earning her BFA at the University of Georgia and her MS at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in Biomedical Visualization (BVIS), Sam worked to develop engaging interactive tools, apps, and illustrations for UIC’s Physical Therapy department. At this time, she also joined the UIC BVIS faculty and helped to redesign the curriculum to incorporate a focus on serious games. While creating award-winning interactive and illustration, Sam has also served on the Chicago chapter’s Board of the International Game Developer’s Association, and has earned status as Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators. To offset any cognitive stress, Sam unwinds by spending time with orange kitty, Adjunct Professor* Sweet Baby Ray.

*We did not actually hire a cat as a professor, this is just a joke.

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sambondvisualization/

Website https://ahs.uic.edu/biomedical-health-information-sciences/directory/bond-sam/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sambondcmi/

2023 BMC speaker series: Eric Chung, UX Designer, Red Nucleus

Eric Chung, MScBMC ‘21, is a medical illustrator, animator and UX designer

From Passion Projects to Professional Practice: UXploring the Brief and Beyond

Working at a digital agency allows for unique opportunities for a range of experimentation and digital innovation, and stepping forward into technological and creative frontiers.

In this talk, Eric will discuss his role as a UX designer at Red Nucleus. He'll discuss several key user experience projects common to agencies—from web applications to conference experiences—and key aspects of the process and challenges involved. He will also touch on the importance of having your own passion projects in driving creativity and innovation.

Date and Time:
Friday, March 24, 2023
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET
One-hour presentation including Q&A.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2023-bmc-speaker-series-from-passion-projects-to-professional-practice-tickets-580888281487

2023 BMC Speaker Series 2023 full program: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2023/01/30/bmc-speakers-2023

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Eric Chung, MScBMC ‘21, is a medical illustrator, animator and UX designer who loves experimenting with creative technologies, anchored in science communication. He currently works as a UX designer Red Nucleus (formerly INVIVO Communications), where he works with pharmaceutical and medical device clients. He leverages his multidisciplinary background to design digital solutions to both engage and educate stakeholders.

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-chung-456ab38a/

Website https://etchng.github.io/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hello_ericc/

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGjJtEiUkBIrtUejIgzLzoQ

2023 BMC speaker series: Annie Campbell, Co-founder at Now Medical Studios

Annie Campbell is the co-founder of Now Medical Studios.

From one to many: Strategies for turning your freelance career into a studio team

Stepping out of your comfort zone and turning a freelance career into a company may seem daunting but it’s not impossible. In this talk, Annie Campbell outlines her transition from a company of one to growing a team of medical illustrators and animators with her business partner Emily Holden at Now Medical Studios. Here she shares some key points in her company’s growth and touches on strategies and pitfalls to avoid if you too want to embark on a similar journey.

Date and Time:
Friday, March 17, 2023
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET
One-hour presentation including Q&A.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2023-bmc-speaker-series-stepping-forward-tickets-577943032167

2023 BMC Speaker Series 2023 full program: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2023/01/30/bmc-speakers-2023

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Annie Campbell is the co-founder of Now Medical Studios—a multidisciplinary studio based in Scotland with global clients like Gore, Under Armour, and Scientific American. Her experiences as art director, project manager and multimedia artist for various clients across the US and Europe has provided her with a broad range of skills and expertise that she instils in her talented team.

Annie firmly believes in lifelong learning and sharing. One of her passions is sharing the business of medical illustration with younger artists embarking into the field. As part of this endeavour, she and Emily founded their learning channel Learn Medical Art to bring the world of medical illustration to a wider audience.

Company Website: https://www.nowmedicalstudios.com/

Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowmedstudios/

Learn Medical Art Website: https://www.learnmedical.art/

Learn Medical Art Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/learnmedicalart/

Learn Medical Art YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5LP6_qXxHox_n2UtG1mOpg

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camp_illustrate/

Personal YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSD25ph5W6C2cMr0dS8rw-Q

2023 BMC speaker series: John Tran, Clinical Anatomist, Researcher and Entrepreneur

The Art of Communication in Anatomical Research & Knowledge Translation: Recognizing Old Problems and Identifying New Solutions

The study of anatomy dates back thousands of years, and with the development of modern-day minimally-invasive procedures, anatomical research and knowledge translation remains fundamentally important to the advancement and practice of medicine. This is true for the field of image-guided radiofrequency ablation to manage debilitating chronic joint pain related to osteoarthritis, where anatomical knowledge of sensory nerve targets is essential to the therapeutic effectiveness of these procedures. In this talk, John will illustrate the importance of anatomical research related to image-guided pain interventions, discuss the communication/visualization challenges in translating anatomical research knowledge into the clinical setting, and share his insights on how future technological advances may address these communication/visualization challenges to improve patient outcomes following image-guided radiofrequency ablation.

Date and Time:
Friday, March 3, 2023
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET
One-hour presentation including Q&A.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2023-bmc-speaker-series-the-art-of-communication-knowledge-translation-tickets-558310129627

2023 BMC Speaker Series 2023 full program: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2023/01/30/bmc-speakers-2023

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John Tran is a clinical anatomist with a decade of anatomical research experience focusing on the sensory nerve supply to joints in relation to landmarks visible with image-guided technologies. John completed his Doctor of Philosophy at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. Currently, he is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Western University. John has published several clinically-relevant anatomical studies focused on innervation of the knee, ankle, shoulder, wrist and lumbar facet joints. Most recently, John cofounded a software company focusing on using 3D digital content and technology to enhance anatomy education and research knowledge translation.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtran07/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JTNerveGuyPhD

2023 BMC speaker series: Gladys Tong, Founder of G Creative Productions Inc.

Gladys Tong, MScBMC ‘94

Stepping forward into virtual production: Embracing Emerging Technology in Film Production

In the field of entertainment, my role has been running a company producing interactive graphics and visual storytelling for the film and television industry for more than 25 years. Since the work we do has been tied to technology, it has always been a challenge to keep up with the latest hardware and software tools. For the past year, I have been engaged with the latest technology in film production called Virtual Production. My talk will focus on the key aspects of Virtual Production as well as the challenges of embracing discomfort when jumping from a relatively comfortable position to suddenly being immersed in a new environment with an unfamiliar risky emerging technology.

Date and Time:
Friday, February 3, 2023
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET
One-hour presentation including Q&A.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-bmc-speaker-series-stepping-forward-into-virtual-production-tickets-523290665467

2023 BMC Speaker Series 2023 full program: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2023/01/30/bmc-speakers-2023

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Gladys Tong, MScBMC ‘94, is the Founder and President of G Creative Productions Inc., a Vancouver-based company specializing in interactive motion graphics and visual effects for the film and television industry. For over 25 years, she has worked on Hollywood’s top feature films such as Deadpool II, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and more. Gladys is a Class of ‘94 graduate of the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications at the University of Toronto.

Web site http://g-creative.com

BMC alumna profile in Temerty Medicine Magazine's art issue

Sonya Amin, MScBMC ‘03 - Director, Client Services and Co-Founder of AXS Studio Inc.

Sonya Amin (MScBMC '03), one of the co-founders of AXS Studio in Toronto, tells how Temerty Medicine’s MScBMC program helped her and her partners to launch AXS, the company’s growth from a three-person operation to a fully-realized venture, and the impact of their work on health care.

Get the whole story in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine Magazine’s Winter 2023 Art Issue AXS Studio: Making moves in biomedical communications https://temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/news/axs-studio-making-moves-biomedical-communications

BMC grad creates first visual work to depict procedure that delivers drugs through the blood-brain barrier

This scientifically accurate, compelling and visually striking still is one from thousands of frames in Hang Yu Lin’s animation Focused ultrasound and microbubbles to overcome the blood-brain barrier for drug delivery.

Hang Yu Lin, MScBMC Class of 2020, created the 3D-animation Focused ultrasound and microbubbles to overcome the blood-brain barrier for drug delivery.

Lin's animation depicts a procedure developed at the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto. This innovative procedure uses a combination of focused ultrasound and microbubbles to deliver drugs to the brain through the blood-brain barrier.

The blood-brain barrier is important for keeping pathogens and foreign substances from entering the brain. But it also impedes the entry of drugs that can treat brain tumours, and diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Before Lin's animation, there were no visuals that told the whole story of this procedure, the complex way that it works, and the resolution after treatment.

Learn more about Hang Yu Lin's 3D-animation and Sunnybrook's innovative research through the University of Toronto's Research Revealed exhibition.

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Websites referenced

H. Lin Visuals https://www.hlin-visuals.com/

UofT’s Research Revealed Exhibition https://uoft.me/microbubbles

UofT's Research Revealed exhibition adds BMC grad's 3D-simulator to its gallery

Still image from Alexander Young's 3D simulation of the procedure used to treat a rare complication that can occur during twin pregnancies.

The Twin-Twin Training Simulator created by Alexander Young, MScBMC Class of 2019, is one of the latest additions to the University of Toronto’s Research Revealed gallery.

Research Revealed is an online exhibition that celebrates the research of students at the University of Toronto. The exhibition is intended to engage the public with trainees’ research through images.

Gaming in medical education

Video gaming simulators are proven educational tools.

But Alex Young wanted to know how best to leverage these digital tools for medical education. He wondered if simplified 3D visuals in a simulated environment might help surgical trainees to learn more effectively.

Opportunity to train in rare surgical procedure

Young’s research resulted in the Twin-Twin Training Simulator. This 3D-simulator replicates the surgical environment. Surgical trainees can learn the complex procedure that is used to treat a rare complication, which can occur during twin pregnancies. The simulator provides opportunities for trainees' to practice, which increases patient access to the procedure.

Learn more about trainee research at the University of Toronto through the online Research Revealed exhibition.

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Web sites referenced:

Twin-Twin Training Simulator: Using a 3D Game Engine to Train Surgeons: https://uoft.me/twin-twin

AY Design: https://www.alexyoungdesign.com/

BMC Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/552473875/08897751ab

Research Revealed: https://researchrevealed.utoronto.ca/home/