Biomedical Illustration Portfolio

"Proteins to Communities"

This illustration represents a polymicrobial community that are communicating through the exchange of proteins known as "effectors". Those effectors then interact with cytoplasmic proteins known as "immunity proteins" that protect the cell from the toxic effects of the effector (in this case DNA degradation).

Below is a video showing my process creating this illustration on Apple Procreate. The DNA was made using a brush I designed myself.

Color pallet 1

Color pallet 2

Sketches and Reference Images

These illustrations were made for University of California, Berkeley's Plant and Microbiology department retreat. I wanted to illustrate the breadth of organisms studied by the labs within this department so I included examples of plants, fungi, and bacteria. The left and middle images are two different example color pallets while the right image includes reference images and initial sketches.

This illustration depicts phenotypic and genetic differences in humans for a corporate scientific advisory meeting. The illustration was ultimately not used for the presentation.

Simplified image of stomach cells for a presentation on Heliobacter pylori. Two different sections (purple and blue) of the stomach (white) are highlighted. The top row illustrates healthy cells while the bottom row illustrates how the cells and architecture changes when ulcers caused by H. pylori are present.

Healthy stomach lining

Ulcerous stomach lining

This graphic illustrates interbacterial competition mechanisms that utilize effector immunity pairs for a potential review. Background created using Apple Procreate and text added with Adobe Illustrator. For more information see "Scientific Graphics".

Below is the approved draft before finalizing the image.

Diagram of the projects in the Gibbs Lab at University of California, Berkeley. Illustration was created using Apple Procreate. For illustration with text (added by Adobe Illustrator) and more information, see "Scientific Graphics".

This comic illustrates how viruses enter cells and replicate causing disease. It was made for a part of a collection of comics by Harvard University's Science in the News (SITN). The comics were dedicated to simplifying virus biology for the public at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comic was illustrated using Apple Procreate and edited using input from other members of the SITN community.

Below is a draft of the comic along with color pallet choices for the human cell and virus.