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http://brodel.med.utoronto.ca/alumni.html
Alumni News
VOLUME 18 NUMBER 1
SPRING 2006
MINUTES OF THE
2005 AGM
Like oat bran, it’s a boring but
important part of your BMCAA diet
by Julie Saunders
JORGÉ PÉREZ-VELA
Biography and retrospective
by Marlene Herbst
WOT WIKI?
The future of interactive information
exchange: now, at BMC
by Nick Woolridge
BODYWORLDS
BMC sketchpads were there
A photo graphic essay
AROUND THE
WATERCOOLER
Alumni news and gossip
MASTER’S
RESEARCH
PROJECTS 2006
Profiles of the current second year
student’s research topics
We’re ‘ere for you
BMCAA NEWSLETTER
Volume 18 Number 1
June 2006
Table of Contents:
President’s Message 2
AGM Minutes 3
... And Then There Was Cheese 5
Bodyworlds Sketchbooks 6
Wikis and Murals 8-9
Jorgé Perez-Véla 10
Around the Watercooler 13
Master’s Research Projects 2006 14
On the cover:
Mary Sim’s (0T3) illustration is a composite from a series of
images she has created at the Hospital for Sick Children for
the Child Physiology Web Project.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The BMCAA Needs You!
It may not be the most original slogan, but it’s true. We’ve had
an exciting and gratifying two years steering the BMCAA
and connecting with alumni, but the organization needs new
blood, and we need a holiday. As of September 2006, we’ll be
stepping down as “co-presidents.” Before we go, we’ll organize
one last fall social (details to follow later), and a fall AGM.
If you’d like to get involved (for instance, by standing for
election to the BMCAA executive at that AGM), please
contact Julie ([email protected]) or Shelley
([email protected]). You won’t be on your own: as past
presidents we’ll be ready with advice, and there’s a great
BMCAA team already, many (or all) of whom will continue
to work to keep the association humming. Go ahead...find
out what it’s like to wield supreme power and have unlimited
use of the BMCAA executive limo...
Here are some additional notes from Mary about her work:
Child Physiology is an online atlas of the anatomy and function of the child’s body. Its initial purpose was to be used by
health care providers as a visual aid when counselling parents.
However, our email feedback indicates that it is widely used
around the world by parents, students (from grade school
through to university), teachers, and individuals wanting to
understand how their body works. The visual focus of Child
Physiology makes it easier to understand for people whose
first language is not English.
I start by collecting several sources of images from the web,
atlases and textbooks, and I read the detailed text descriptions
in Gray’s Anatomy. Storyboards help me decide what are the
critical things to show, how much detail is needed, and how
to arrange the information in a series of images that provide
anatomical context. I really think context is important for
understanding anatomy; many resources show some disembodied anatomical part, with no external relation to where it
is found in the human body. I meet many times with Sick
Kids health care professionals working in this subject area to
discuss the storyboards and what they think is relevant and
needed, in a back-and-forth process.
I make detailed sketches on paper, scan them into Illustrator,
use a calligraphic brush (or two) to trace the sketches, and
then export the .ai line drawings to Flash. The drawings are
painted in Flash, using a sort of watercolour technique, i.e.
lots of transparent layers of colour. Some are painted more
simply than others, depending on the texture needed (rough
or smooth, or transparent). For example, bone sometimes
needs lots of layers of colour to get that bone texture feel,
whereas cells and jelly-like things such as the tectorial membrane use simple gradient shading.
Colour palette is chosen carefully as well. I try to limit the
palette to three colours, two main ones and one accent
colour. In the Ear module, the main colours are purples and
yellows, and the accent colour is a cerulean blue. With bone,
skin, and nerves mostly in the yellow hues, the other two
colours - dark purple, cerulean blue - can be used to emphasize small or important structures. I really like painting in
Flash, and often when I am painting in traditional media, I
wish I had the “control Z” (undo) feature!
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BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
A special thank you to alumni & friends who
made donations to the BMCAA in 2005:
Teddy Cameron
Paulette Dennis
Audrey Doray
Marguerite Drummond
Stephen Mader
2005-2006 BMC ALUMNI EXECUTIVE
Co-Presidents
Julie Saunders 0T4
Shelley Wall 0T4
Treasurer
Michelle Lui 0T5
Newsletter Editor
Dave Mazierski 8T2
Web Development
Marisa Bonofiglio 0T3
Miyuki Fukuma 0T1
BMC Student Representative
Crista Mason 0T6
MINUTES OF THE
2005 AGM
November 5, 2005
Biomedical Communications Alumni Association
Annual General Meeting (BMCAA AGM)
Edward Day Gallery (952 Queen St. West)
Meeting called to order at 8:40pm
Presided by Co-Presidents Shelley Wall and Julie Saunders
Members in attendance: 21
Acting Secretary: Crista Mason
I. Thanks to Edward Day Gallery for hosting the BMCAA
AGM for free! (It was a well-received and hospitable venue for
the Wine and Cheese Tasting conducted by Julia Rogers, and
for the Annual General Meeting.)
II.The BMCAA is in need of a treasurer
A.The BMCAA Spring Banquet, at the Bright Pearl
restaurant, did not raise any funds for the BMCAA.
Fortunately, the fees paid by members subsidized
the costs of the evening and allowed students and
guests from other schools to attend.
B.Printing, making and sending the newsletter are
currently the main costs that need to be covered by
the BMCAA.
C.However, the membership would like to give more
back to the BMC department.
1. Library books
2. Other needs
D. The BMCAA requests a treasurer to look after
these issues and keep a budget for the BMCAA.
III. Newsletter
A. Dave Mazierski is now chief editor of the
newsletter.
1. Currently, Dave does not need help with the
newsletter but new articles and ideas are always
welcome.
2. Margot Mackay offered to help with years and
dates in identifying photos.
3. Suggestions for the newsletter included:
a. A “Who’s Where” section – so that the
BMCAA knows where past alumni have
gone and what they are currently doing.
b. A “Gossip” Column
B. Should the newsletter be available on-line?
1. Majority vote “yes.”
2. For those members the BMCAA does not have
an email address for, a “send you email address”
request will be in the next newsletter.
a. 200 individuals are currently listed in the
BMCAA database, most with functional
emails.
IV. Future plans and goals of the BMCAA
A. The BMCAA will return to observing more
formal rules of order:
1.Developing a nominating committee for future
elections.
2. Planning and abiding by agendas.
3. Accountability is needed for dealing with
funds.
B. The BMCAA discussed developing a website and
what should be included on said website.
1. Links to members’ sites.
2. Link to BMC department’s site.
3. Creating a listserv for exchange of ideas.
4. Allow Ontario clients to search for medical
illustrators through the website.
5. List upcoming events
a. Upcoming meetings
b. Gallery showings
c. General events of interest to the BMCAA
6. Concerns
a. We need to create a permission slip to display
names, graduation dates. Other appropriate
questions should also be included.
b. On the other hand, Shelley Wall suggested
“We’re all successful, good-looking people…so
what’s there to worry about?”
7. Marisa Bonofiglio and Miyuki Fukuma
volunteered to develop the BMCAA website.
C. Continuing education
1. Should the BMCAA offer continuing
education course events?
a. Are they financially feasible?
2. The BMCAA could use its resources (e.g. alumni
connections and BMC department resources) to
facilitate continuing education events.
D. Julie Saunders met with the head of the University
of Toronto Alumni Association head to determine
how to keep in touch with alumni, give back to the
department, and develop the BMCAA further…a
“fact-finding mission.”
1. The BMCAA is a professional organization and
an alumni association.
V. Fundraising
A. Social events function as “get togethers” and have
not necessarily raised funds for the BMCAA.
B. Funds are needed for:
BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
3
1. Departmental and student needs
2. Alumni events and purposes
C. What does the BMCAA want to raise funds for?
1. The majority voted “yes,” in favor of raising
funds for both department and alumni purposes/
needs.
D. The BMCAA needs a fundraising coordinator.
1. Ideas for fund-raising included:
a. Creating a book wish-list
b. Contacting alumni and specifically asking for
donations
VI. General Events
A. Ideas for general get together or fund-raising
events included:
1.Potlucks
2. Keeping the cost of events low so students and
others could attend.
B. Bodyworlds
1. With enough interest, the BMCAA could
request a group discount to Bodyworlds.
a. Perhaps anatomy professors could be invited
to share their views.
b. The majority of members felt it was important
to have some kind of social component with
other alumni (i.e. dinner or discussion).
C. Art exhibition of Alumni work
1.Majority of members interested in arranging a
salon of alumni work.
2. Possible venues were discussed:
a. Hart House
b. Hart House film board was interested in
developing a “coursework section” of film
festival. Perhaps BMC could be involved with
this?
3. The BMC could attend life-drawing classes
together. Information could be emailed to the
BMCAA.
VII. Newly elected officials
A. President
1.Shelley Wall and Julie Saunders were re-elected
as co-presidents.
B. Treasurer
1.Michelle Liu was elected as treasurer.
C. Web Committee
1.Marisa Bonofiglio and Miyuki Fukuma were
elected to be the web committee.
D. Fundraising Coordinator
1.In his absence, Marc Dryer was nominated
(by Meaghan Brierley) to act as fundraising
coordinator.
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BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
2. This position is most likely still available
VIII. Closing notes
A. Stephen Mader suggested Artery Studios could be
a corporate sponsor of BMCAA.
B. Any further ideas or suggestions can be emailed to
Shelley Wall and Julie Saunders.
C. Adjournment and we are also looking for a
volunteer to join the Alumni Executives as a
Fundraising Coordinator.
TREASURER”S REPORT
Michelle Lui
In 2005, the BMCAA received $1995.00 through
the generous support of members. Thank you for your
contributions!
The BMCAA purchased books and other materials
for BMC’s new space at the CCIT building (Mississauga
campus) at a cost of $711.36.
Printing and postage costs for distribution of newsletters
and invitations to events totaled $1197.69. In order to reduce
these expenses, please consider submitting your e-mail
address to the BMCAA to receive electronic copies of future
communications.
WEB COMMITTEE UPDATE AND THE
NEW BMC LISTSERV
Marisa Bonofiglio, Miyuki Fukuma and Dave Mazierski
Plans for an online alumni directory are slowly but surely
starting to take shape. We will be soliciting you for advice as
to what kind of alumni information you would find useful
to have available on-line, and what you would like to make
available for yourself. We are considering photo and web site
galleries, among other options.
Another exciting development is the availability of a
listserv for all AAM and BMC alumni. A listserv is a kind
of electronic mailing list program for communicating with
other people who have subscribed to the same list. You can
subscribe to the BMCAA Listserv by logging into this web
address and entering some basic information about yourself:
http://brodel.med.utoronto.ca/mailman/listinfo/bmc_alumni_listserv
When you submit a message to the server, your message
is relayed to all those on the listserv. You receive messages
from other the other participants via e-mail. Based on our
experience with the AMI Listserv, we think that our BMC
version will be a great way to stay in touch with your friends,
colleagues and classmates to ask technical or vocational
questions, or to round up partners to tackle big freelance
assignments or for social events. Like any community, its
usefulness will be a function of how many people participate,
so please log in, sign up, and give it a try!
...AND THEN
THERE WAS CHEESE
Shelley Wall
T
hanks to all of you who attended last November’s
AGM and tasting seminar. If you missed the AGM,
you can still capture the full flavour of that event from
the minutes included in this newsletter.
Co-President Julie Saunders call to order at the AGM is met with typical BMC Executive
decorum by Co-President Shelley Wall (centre) and Teddy Cameron (0T0)
In Julia Rogers’ tasting seminar, however, you missed
flavours to which no newsletter column can do justice. It
appealed to all the senses: a mandala of shapes and colours on
each plate; a choreography of taste, aroma, and texture; and
Julia’s learned, witty talk to guide us through the pairings
of cheese and wine. We began with light, subtle flavours—
a sparkling VQA wine and mellow, triple-cream cheese
from Quebec—and moved gradually into the stronger stuff,
concluding with a full-bodied Zinfandel, a superb gouda
from Thunder Bay, and a Tasmanian blue cheese to bring
down the house. I have never been so mindful of food and
drink, or enjoyed it so much. You can learn more about Julia
Rogers’ seminars and the culture of cheese from her web site,
www.cheeseculture.ca.
BMCAA Treasurer Michelle Lui 0T5 (l) demonstrates to classmate Elisheva Marcus
just how much cheese her food budget will cover after she makes her monthly
student loan payment.
Thanks to Julie Saunders’ association with the Edward
Day Gallery on Queen Street West, we were able to hold the
event in their magnificent space, surrounded by the work of
artist Angela Grossmann.
Marc Dryer (0T1, centre) discusses the olfactory similarities between a serving of washed
rind cheese and his laundry hamper with classmate Miyuki Fukuma (l) and
“Mr. Danielle Bader”, Roy Baskind
BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
5
MEMORIES OF PLASTINATION
BMC ALUMNI AVOID BREAKING THE RULES AND BREAK OUT THE SKETCHPADS INSTEAD
Julie Saunders
BMCAA Alumni went to the Bodyworlds 2 Exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre on the evening of Saturday
January 21.
Our evening began with a private pre-show reception sponsored by Artery Studios. Following this chance for lively conversation
and tasty treats, we toured the amazing plastinated anatomical specimens of Gunther von Hagens with our anatomical
experts, Dr. Mike Wiley from the University of Toronto, and Dr. Bruce Wainman of McMaster University. Dave Mazierski
was also in demand for his insight into the preserved camels – one of the memorable highlights of the show. After
the exhibition, alumni rejoined for coffee and desert, as the reception continued.
Some of our alumni even managed to fit in some sketching during this jampacked evening (the only personal way to capture images of the exhibit, as
phototography is not permitted).
The BMCAA executive is happy to report that the evening was an allaround success. Tickets sold to maximum capacity (our apologies to those
interested parties who we were not able to accommodate at the last minute),
guests were able to visit the exhibition on a night when it was otherwise
sold out to the general public, and the event was accepted for continuing
education credits with the AMI. We hope you will be able to join us for
more events like this in the future. If you have any suggestions for an event,
please feel free to contact Julie Saunders at [email protected].
Above, sketch by Kat Chorney (9T8); right top: Wei Ning Yu (0T5) and Miyuki
Fukuma (0T1); right bottom: Roula Drossis (0T0) and her husband Alberto;
below: sketch by Bart Vallecoccia (9T0)
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BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
Above, l>r: Christine Kenney & Lima Colati (9T9), Stefan Iannou (Kim
Auchinachie’s better half) and Teddy Cameron (0T0); right: sketch by Kat Chorney;
below right: sketch by Dave Mazierski (8T2); below, sketch by Crista Mason (0T6)
BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
7
A WIKI IN TIME
Nick Woolridge (9T2), Associate Professor at BMC and resident technology-ologist, writes about his latest favorite software
tool for online collaborative information dissemination and exchange... OK, we’ll let <him> explain...
A What?
BMC has recently expanded its web-publishing activities,
enabling blogs (web logs, or a form of on-line working diaries)
for registered users of our server and by hosting a wiki as part of
our web site. “What is a wiki?” you ask? Well let me tell you...
W
ikis are a kind of user-editable web site, which
usually serve as a collaboratively built knowledge
repository amongst a community of people. The
idea was introduced in 1995 by a developer named Ward
Cunningham, who created the first wiki to facilitate the
exchange of ideas between programmers (he derived the
name from a Hawaiian word for “fast”; he had encountered
it in taking a “Wiki Wiki” shuttle between terminals at
the Honolulu airport). Probably the best known wiki is the
wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org), a growing, comprehensive,
web-based encyclopedia that has been entirely written by it’s
community of users.
Wikis are springing up all over the internet; many
companies are developing internal wikis to help in the
preservation of “user-level” institutional knowhow. We
thought a wiki would allow students, alumni, and faculty
to preserve, expand, and update the specialized knowledge
unique to our domain. For instance, imagine that a student
discovers or invents a time-saving but obscure Photoshop
technique; in past years, they might tell their classmates
and instructors about it, who might or might not remember
and propagate it other students and faculty. Now, using the
wiki, that student could document their technique, and
encourage other students to explore and expand upon it. Or
imagine a student researching a paper on electronic teaching
methods; finding appropriate papers in the research literature
can be difficult, but this student has access to the annotated
bibliography of relevant research compiled over the years by
faculty and previous students, all available on the wiki. She
uses this resource, but also finds new papers, and adds them
to the wiki. Or, imagine a student asking an instructor “How
do I make sure the flayrod doesn’t go askew on the treadle?”
The new standard response could be, “Did you check the
wiki?” What a boon!
OK, where is it?
The new BMC wiki can be seen at:
http://www.bmc.med.utoronto.ca/bmcwiki/
There is an RSS feed of recent changes at:
feed://www.bmc.med.utoronto.ca/bmcwiki/feed.php
So, how does this all work?
We installed a free, open source wiki application known
as dokuwiki (http://wiki.splitbrain.org/wiki:dokuwiki) on
our server. Dokuwiki is just one of a huge number of freely
available wiki programs; for a reasonable good comparison
of some of the leading contenders, look at http://www.
wikimatrix.org/. What attracted us to dokuwiki was its ease
of use, efficient database-free design, the relatively attractive
quality of its default look-and-feel, and the fact that we didn’t
feel embarrassed saying its name aloud (which we couldn’t
say for pukiwiki, didiwiki, tiddlywiki, or wackowiki, among
others).
Many wikis are completely open (in other words, anyone
who stumbles across them can edit the pages). We’ve chosen,
for the time being, to allow only BMC faculty, students, and
recent alumni to contribute to the BMC wiki, though anyone
may view the public pages. In order to edit pages, you must
log in using the button at the lower right of the page (you
must have an account and password on BMC’s server in order
to log in; let me know if you do not, and would like one).
An example of a typical wiki page might be the
following:
http://www.bmc.med.utoronto.ca/bmcwiki/doku.php/
research:animation_bibliography
I hope this gives a sense of what kinds of things the wiki
can be used for.
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BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
Let’s get this party started
If you visit the wikipedia, you will notice that, near the top
of any page, there is an “Edit” button. Clicking this will bring
you to a page where you can change the content of that web
page. BMC‘s wiki similarly has “edit” buttons located at the
top and bottom of the page, or at the end of sections within
a page. Once you click the edit button, you are brought to a
view where you can change the text on the page, and make
simple style changes like bold, italic, and bullet lists.
Most wikis require that you use a simple, text-based
markup language, where, for instance //this// would italicize
a word, or [[this]] would create a link to a new page. (For
more detail on formatting pages, look at the “syntax” page on
the wiki, or examine the formatting of existing pages to see
how the simple wiki markup works.)
The number one question people usually have about a wiki
is how to add a page. It is simplicity itself:
1. first, log in to the wiki using your standard BMC
login.
2. on the page you intend to link from (usually a
“category page” like software applications) choose
“edit this page”.
3. type in a textual link in the form: newpagename
4. when you save the page, the new link appears
5. click the link; as long as the page doesn’t already
exist, the wiki will tell “This topic does not exist yet”,
and ask you if you would like to create it. Click on
the button which says “create this page”. You will be
brought to the edit view, and you can start writing.
The “syntax” link on the sidebar will clue you in on the
relatively simple markup used to format the wiki pages;
you can also just choose “edit page” to see how someone
has formatted their page. Please feel free to contribute,
adding categories and topics as you see fit. Much of this is
documented in the wiki “frequently asked questions” list at:
<http://www.bmc.med.utoronto.ca/bmcwiki/doku.php/
bmc_wiki_faq>
Also, remember that there is a search function on the
wiki...
S
ince the wiki can grow rather anarchically as different
users add to it, any suggestions you have about
improving its structure are most welcome. I hope to see
your entry posted there soon!
HERBARIUM MEDICALUS: THE PRINCESS MARGARET CODEX
Alumni passing through Princess Margaret Hospital
in Toronto will see a new large-scale work of scientific
illustration in the lobby. It was created by 23 students under
the direction of Dr. Annie Smith (our featured speaker at
last April’s Gala Dinner and Social) and Professor Carmelo
Arnoldin, of the University of Toronto’s Art & Art History
Program. Herbarium Medicalus (Medical Plants): The
Princess Margaret Codex is a 4 x 12-foot mosaic of plants
noted for their medicinal properties.
Princess Margaret Hospital is located at 610 University
Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 2M9
Alumni who saw Annie’s humorous and touching presentation on her
life of ‘bearing’ up with cancer will appreciate her choice of plant
– the bearberry (photo at right).
BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
9
A retrospective and appreciation, by Marlene Herbst (9T4)
I
t was a sunny afternoon in the town of Cuernavaca just
south of Mexico City, as I sat in the garden with Jorgé
Pérez-Vela, whilst sipping on a cool gin and tonic. Scarlet
bougainvilleas and other exotic flowers climbed the walls
around the perimeter of the swimming pool behind the
house, mingling their colours with the wooden beams and
lively Mexican tiles. As the “Señior” leafed through a medical
textbook, showing me his latest illustrations, I was filled with
admiration at the long and productive career of this dedicated
medical illustrator. I was also struck by the uniqueness of his
career, for its diversity spanned three countries: Mexico, the
U.S. and Canada.
Pérez-Vela was born in Celaya,
Guanajuato, Mexico on May 25th,
1926. His early training took place
at the National Academy of Plastic
Arts where he studied under Julio
Castellanos from 1941- 46. At the
end of this period, with the aid of
a Mexican Scholarship, he traveled
to the University of Illinois at
Chicago. He became a student of
Professor Tom Jones, who founded
the Medical Illustration program
and it was here that he met Nancy
Joy, who worked as a teaching
assistant to Tom Jones while PérezVela pursued his studies. In Chicago Pérez-Vela also met
his first wife, Vera Mae Dominick (archeology). Returning
to Mexico City, they were married in 1947 and had three
children.
Pérez-Vela’s first appointment was Director and Head
of the Department of Medical Illustration at the Hospital
General in Mexico City in 1947. This was a position he held
for most of his career. While there he illustrated numerous
clinical textbooks including “Introduccion a la Clinica
Ginecologica Propedeutica,” “Proctologia,” “Manual of
Mechanical Orthopaedics,” “Urologia e Introduccion a
la Sexologia” and “Cirugia Craneofacial.” Pérez-Vela also
held the academic appointment of professor of painting at
the Sociedad Dante Alighieri from 1949-63. He painted
four large murals between the years 1954-62, two of them
at hospitals in Mexico City. Pérez-Vela also worked as Art
Director, Constructora y Decoradora S.A. from 1963-69.
Gynecological surgery illustrations were one of PérezVela’s specialties. In the text “Urologia Ginecologica” by Dr.
Delfino Gallo, there are a total of 357 pages of illustrations
in monochromatic watercolour as well as outline drawings of
gynecology patients. Pérez-Vela found watercolour practical
in terms of Mexican textbook reproduction, where financial
considerations necessitated printing in black and white. His
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BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
medium of choice was a dense black photographic retouching
pigment that came in hardened tablets. This produced a
wet-on-wet monochromatic watercolour wash with a wide
spectrum of tone from light gray to a rich, deep black.
In the year 1967, the Centennial, the status of Art as
Applied to Medicine had just been elevated to a B.Sc. degree
program from a diploma program and the size of the class
increased from two or three to six students. Nancy Joy
recruited a teacher for photography from Winnipeg and
also invited Jorgé Pérez-Vela to come to Toronto. They had
become re-acquainted after many years, when they met at
the AMI meeting in 1965. Pérez-Vela was an active member
of the Association of Medical Illustrators, U.S.A. from 1963
onwards. On the suggestion of Nancy Joy, he took a leave of
absence from the Hospital General, Mexico City to work as
Assistant Professor, teaching “monochromatic wash drawing”
to students in the last semester at the Department of Art as
Applied to Medicine.
The class of ‘69’ was overjoyed, recalls Heinz Loth. PérezVela, with his expertise and encouraging manner, was seen as
the saviour of the soon to be graduating students. “Terrific,
very good” were his comments, says Loth, as the brush was
put to watercolour paper. “How do you draw the fat in the
incision of the surgical sketch?” was a student’s question.
With the swift motion of the brush, like an accomplished
swordsman, the layer of fat took shape. Pérez-Vela made it
look so easy. He showed the students hundreds of his sketches,
most of them published in books and journals. In addition,
there were also examples of exhibit work, both medical and
commercial.
For the next twenty-six years, Pérez-Vela returned to
Toronto annually as a visiting lecturer. In addition, he taught
Jorgé demonstrates his technique at the Department of Art as Applied
to Medicine, December 1985 (l>r): Mary-Anne Williams (8T8),
Jorgé, and Stephen Mader (8T8)
At right: an illustration demonstrating Jorge’s signature
watercolour style, from “Urologia Ginecologica”
a summer course in Medical/Scientific Illustration at the
Ontario College of Art, taking his students on excursions
to Allen Gardens in order to draw plants and flowers. He
was also included in outings and student/staff parties at the
A.A.M. department. Margot Mackay remembers one such
party. She had promised to cook a “Mexican dinner” for the
event, complete with “pueblo molé.” Molé is a sauce with
rather peculiar ingredients. It was a recipe she had never
tried before, and Margot lay awake all night worrying about
whether the sauce would live up to Pérez-Vela’s expectations.
Happily it was a great success, with the expert pronouncing it
“one of the best molés he had ever tasted!”
Pérez-Vela invited graduates from the Department of Art as
Applied to Medicine to come to Mexico City to work as interns
at the General Hospital. Abbey McInnes, who graduated
in 1969, and Anne Marie Black and Jean MacGregor, who
graduated in 1972, were the first candidates to venture south.
Naomi Currie and Cathy McIntosh, who both graduated in
1985, followed several years later. Currie recalls that she had
been working as a freelance illustrator since graduation but
felt that she needed more practical experience in the field.
She remembers her excitement when, in the summer of 1986,
she came upon a poster advertising the “Canada/Mexico
Exchange Program for Young Specialists and Technicians.”
“This program was funded by the Department of External
Affairs and offered a bursary to eight eligible candidates.
Each applicant had to write an essay to be considered for
the position. The question being explored was “how the
experience of working for a year abroad would contribute to
each country.” Currie has vivid memories of her experience
at the General Hospital of Mexico City, a major teaching
hospital. “We were treated like any other medical residents,”
she explained. The department consisted of Jorgé PérezVela (Director), a secretary and two photographers/graphic
artists.
“We worked on several projects supervised by Pérez-Vela;
the first was a book on Paediatric Emergency medicine
for Latin American doctors. This book was targeted to
practitioners working in impoverished countries that had
limited resources. The second project was a promotional
book on Rheumatoid Diseases for Hoffman-LaRoche
pharmaceuticals. Another task was illustrating a surgical
procedure to repair collapsed vertebrae resulting from
secondary stage tuberculosis, a common ailment in third
world countries. This procedure made a huge impact in
improving the lives of patients afflicted with tuberculosis”.
Jorgé Pérez-Vela met Janet Peace at an open house at the
Department of Art as Applied to Medicine in 1969. Peace
worked as a medical illustrator at The Hospital for Sick
Children; she had graduated in 1956 under Maria Wishart.
By this time, Pérez-Vela had been a widower for several years
(his wife died of a brain tumor), and Peace was a divorcee
with a young son. They fell in love and married, maintaining
residences in both Mexico City and Hamilton. Following
the earthquake of 1985 that shattered a portion of their
P
érez-Vela continued to contribute illustrations to books
such as “Medicina Fisica y Rehabilitacion,” “Cirugia
de la Mano,” as well as medical journals, and design
exhibits for Mexican medical congresses and clinics. PérezVela’s pen and ink style was characterized by loose, simple
lines with weighted thicks and thins for emphasis. Dark lines
were used to either delineate objects closer to the viewer or for
shadows, but not both. His quickly rendered drawings were
a practical solution to the problem of creating artwork that
communicated all the essentials but was also cost effective
At the RCYC Yacht Club, early 1980s (l>r): Frederich Lammerich (AAM instructor),
Jorgé, Margot Mackay (6T7), Marjorie Gregerman, Patsy Cunningham (5T7),
and Nancy Joy
BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
11
pre-Columbian art collection, they moved to Cuernavaca,
seventy-five kilometers south of Mexico City. There, Janet
enjoyed painting large, serene acrylic canvases inspired by the
bright Mexican colours surrounding her studio. After 1985,
Jorgé no longer taught at the department, but the couple
continued to travel regularly between Mexico and Canada.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE
WATERCOOLER
compiled by Marisa Bonofiglio
On the way to Nancy Joy’s cottage at Point au Baril, early 1980’s
(l>r): Jorgé, Consuela (a family friend) and Nancy Joy
I
t is in Cuernavaca that we met on several occasions, to
visit and explore the many fascinating archeological sites,
markets and museums of the region, and sample Mexican
delicacies prepared by Chavela, the Pérez-Velas’ cook and
housekeeper. What a joy it is to know this warm, empathetic
illustrator, artist and gentleman, as well as his talented wife.
From last reports, Jorgé Pérez-Vela continues to work on
medical illustrations. He celebrated his eightieth birthday on
the May 25th, 2006.
Jen Bosy (9T8) and Mark Platt had a beautiful baby girl
named Sophia Helena Platt, born August 11, 2005. This is
their first child... congratulations!
Upcoming Events
Mark your calendars and make your reservations:
July 30- August 3: SIGGRAPH: The 33rd International
Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics
and Interactive Techniques, Boston, Massachusetts
http://www.siggraph.org/s2006/
August 2-6: The 61st Annual Meeting of the Association
of Medical Illustrators, Boston, Massachusetts
http://www.ami.org/2006/
October 18-21: The 66th Annual Meeting of the
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Ottawa, Ontario
http://www.vertpaleo.org/
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BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
Ken VanderStoep (0T3) and Cathy VanderStoep are the
happy parents of new baby girl Emma VanderStoep, born
Dec. 4, 2005. Big sister Hannah is very excited!
Virginia. She entered the piece to a juried exhibition held
by the Illustrators Club, and it was chosen for an award
under the “scientific illustration” category. Here is a quote
from Cynthia: “ I was very thrilled about that and thought
to share the news with y’all.” (Since her graduation, Cynthia
now lives in Richmond, Virginia... we LOVE her KoreanVirginian drawl) (South Korean, surely?... DM)
Monique Guilderson (LeBlanc) (9T6) was recently
featured in an article in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald,
along with her company, Maritime Medical Design. She has
worked hard to promote herself and create a client base from
scratch to become a centre for medical and scientific art on
the East Coast. The article can be read online at http://www.
herald.ns.ca/Search/508775.html
Janice Chan (0T2) and Anton de Ruiter are the proud
parents of Thomas Conradus Alexander de Ruiter, born
January 14th, 2006. This is their first child; congratulations!
Dino Pulera (9T6) is co-author and illustrator of The
Dissection of Vertebrates – an exciting and unique dissection
manual that is being published by Elsevier/Academic Press
in late summer 2006 (Dino’s art was featured on the cover of
our last newsletter). Watch for a more detailed article in our
Fall 2006 BMCAA Newsletter...
(Keep those news-filled e-mails coming... we have a Fall issue to fill!...
DM)
WHERE THE HECK?!
Karen and Brian Whalen (nee Karen Petruccelli 0T0) are
happy to announce the birth of their twin sons, Connor and
Nathan, on December 23rd, 2005. Wow... instant family!
Mary Sims (0T3) and Kim Morey were blissfully wed in
BC on May 27, 2006... congratulations to you both!
There is a promise of marriage between Sonya Amin (0T3)
and Geoffrey Hodgetts for a 2007 wedding…Congratulations
on your engagement!
Heidi Dening (nee Maj)(OT2) and Ryan Dening have
moved yet again, to San Francisco, California from an
exciting 5-month stint in Villingen, Germany, for Ryan’s
career in concept art/illustration. Heidi is continuing to work
for Sick Kid’s Child Physiology website via “satellite” – we
can’t wait to see where the world takes them next!
Cynthia Yoon (0T3) is happy to announce that her
“kelp beds” food web illustration done as a BMC student
is being exhibited at a gallery in Washington DC, among
120+ artworks done by 60+ artists from DC, Maryland, and
We’ve ‘lost’ the following alumni and we don’t know
where they are... we promise that we
are not going to call them and bug
them about fund raising; we just
want to send them this harmless
little newsletter! If you know the address of
any of these former AAM/BMC’ers, please
let us know (we promise not to tell them who
tipped us off):
André Beerens 7T2
Randy Averback 7T9
Rick Billinghurst 7T3
Anne Marie Black 7T2
Lynn Goodchild (Kiraly) 7T4
Valerie Harrison 6T9
Irene Healey 8T9
Elizabeth Imrie 5T3
Cathy Jeffery 8T5
Laurie Johnston 7T5
Frederick Kelly 4T9
Emilienne Lambert 7T6
Shumin Lee 8T9
Rhonda Legrove 8T3
Per Lundquist 7T1
Jean MacGregor 7T2
Vicki O’Shaughnessy 9T0
Pat Parsons 7T0
Shirley Pavlik (Reddick) 7T4
Paul Pede 9T3
Annette Porter 6T5
Christine Redfern 9T4
Glen Reid 6T9
Carolyn Richardson 7T9
Bev Ross 8T1
Kate Santos 8T4
Rasa Skudra 7T3
Lynn Smiledge (Waldo) 7T8
Jackie Steinmann 5T1
Judith Walker 6T9
Chris Yorke 9T5
Kam Yu 9T0
BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
13
M.Sc. BMC MASTER’S RESEARCH PROJECTS, 2006
It seems like only yesterday that we welcomed the ten students who will be graduating this fall into our little world. They’ve
grown, they’ve done a heck of a lot of work, and here are their Master’s Research Project topics:
WILLA BRADSHAW
DIANA DAI
Visualizing Gastrulaion, a multimedia interactive teaching
tool for undergraduate university students studying human
development.
Macular Hole Repair - A dynamic three dimensional intraocular visualization of an intraocular vitreoretinal microsurgical procedure to repair a macular hole and its potential
complications for surgical residents in training.
The objective of my project is to develop
an accurate dynamic three-dimensional
model of the embryo during the
process of gastrulation. Further to
that, to embed within the model several
animated sequences that explain the
complex changes occurring throughout the structure.
Finally, to facilitate, through these objectives , students’ deeper
understanding and consolidation of spatial and temporal
relationships occurring in the process of gastrulation.
MICHAEL CORRIN
Exploring the use of non-narrative sound as an adjunct to
a three-dimensional biomedical animation depicting a novel
mechanism underlying tactile allodynia following peripheral
nerve injury.
Educational biomedical animations strive to present their
content in a didactic and engaging manner that facilitates
learning. In pursuit of this goal, efforts directed at improving
the educational potential of biomedical animations have
focused, almost exclusively, on the improved delivery of
information in the visual field. However, learners have different
learning styles of which visual learning is only one style of
many (e.g., visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, tactile, group).
Research suggests that individual students respond best to
particular combinations of different teaching modalities.
Owing to its multimodal delivery format (e.g., video and
audio), three-dimensional animation is a teaching tool that
has the potential to cater to both visual and auditory learners,
as well as combinations thereof, thus creating learning
environments that enhance visually presented information
and accommodate a variety of learning styles. The aim of
my MRP is to explore the use of non-verbal sound design
in an educational cellular and sub-cellular 3-dimensional
biomedical animation in order to demonstrate the potential
of various types of non-verbal sound and to stimulate interest
in the use of, and further research into the potential benefits
of the use of sound in educational animations.
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BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
Goals:
1. To create a detailed, accurate, layered intra-ocular
anatomic 3-D model that vitreoretinal surgeons and their
trainees can use to learn the anatomic relationship and the
techniques of vitreoretinal surgery.
2. To visualize the key
steps in the surgery for
the repair of a macular
hole, including peeling
the internal limiting
membrane,
and
its
potential complications,
to make the infrequent
visual portions of the
operation easy to achieve.
3. To demonstrate how live video and a sound track
containing the sound of the vacuum aspiration equipment
can work together with the animation to help the trainees to
understand the simultaneous manipulations required during
the surgery.
4. To achieve more professional audience, multiple
languages version will be available in the final DVD format.
KARI FRANCIS
The animation is
illustrating the complex
series of events that cause
p r e g n a n t- a s s o c i a t e d
malaria and the synergistic
interaction
between
malaria and HIV within
the
placenta
during
pregnancy. The content
expert
who
ensured
medical accuracy and
completeness of the information presented was Dr. Kevin
C. Kain (MD., FRCPC). Dr. Kevin Kain is the Director
of The Center for Travel and Tropical Medicine at The
Toronto General Hospital and is an Associate Professor in
the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto. As a
clinician-scientist at the University of Toronto, one of Dr.
Kain’s research efforts focuses on malaria and its interaction
with HIV-1 in the placenta.
QING HUANG
When Cells Get Lost:
Neural Crest Cell Migration and Pathology
The main goal of this animation is to educate undergraduate
life science and first year medical students on fundamental
immunological processes typically depicted only in textbooks:
2-dimensional schematic illustrations. This will hopefully
become one in a series of immunology-related animations
that will be used by the department of immunology at the
University of Toronto as classroom teaching tools.
The image shows one of the main antagonists of the story:
a typical e.coli-like bacterium.
CRISTA MASON
The neural crest (NC) is an embryonic cell population
that is important to the development and evolution of
vertebrates. They form sensory neurons, autonomic neurons,
glia, melanocytes, craniofacial cartilage and bone in the
head. Because of their extensive migration and derivatives,
they are also an important model system for understanding
cell movements, proliferation, and differentiation. Their
migration involves various interactions between NC cells
themselves as well as NC cells with their environment. Many
written or static visual descriptions of embryological processes
are complex for students to execute. Embryology is a highly
visual area of study that presents challenges to students
(and teachers) because it requires application of threedimensional (3-D) concepts to a two-dimensional (2-D)
plane. Computer-generated animations 3D models can help
students comprehend embryonic developmental changes by
providing background morphology of normal mammalian
embryos to those who have little knowledge of anatomy and
demonstrating spatial relationships between cells and tissues.
The objective of this project is to help undergraduate students
understand the physical cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions
of NC migration in the architecture of a shape-changing
embryo.
SARAH A. KIM
I am creating
a
3-dimensional
animation depicting
the cellular and
molecular
events
involved in Bcell activation and
subsequent antibody
production.
Bcell activation by
helper T cells is a multi-step process that can become quite
complex at a molecular level; it involves numerous interand intracellular interactions and a large amount of cellular
migration in densely cell-populated lymph nodes. Some of the
visual problems to solve will be making a visual distinction
between cellular and molecular domains, and keeping the
target audience’s attention focused on a main story and away
from the visual noise of being inside the densely crowded
environment of a lymph node
The Development of a Teaching Tool for the Active Movement Scale (AMS): An evaluative tool for infants and
children with obstetrical brachial plexus palsy
The Active Movement Scale
(AMS) is a practical and reliable
evaluative tool that was recently
developed in the Brachial Plexus
Clinic at the Hospital for Sick
Children. The AMS is used to
quantify motor function in infants
with upper-extremity paralysis
caused by trauma to the brachial
plexus (Curtis et al. 2002; Clarke
and Curtis 1995). Although the AMS is a successful and
proven preoperative and postoperative evaluation tool used
by physicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and
surgeons around the world, a visualization of the evaluation
process does not exist for teaching purposes.
Since the AMS requires the examiner to use an 8-point
grading system on 15 movement exercises (Curtis et al. 2002;
Clarke and Curtis 1995), it is a visually complex and dynamic
evaluation to learn. Therefore, I will create a training DVD
which will incorporate instructional video and an animated
“movement library”. In the video component, I will present
the sequential steps of the AMS and how to elicit the desired
movements from infants and children for grading purposes.
In the animation component, I will use a three-dimensional
model to demonstrate each scored movement, scenes which
are difficult to capture on video. Using a DVD format to
present this multimedia project will allow for distance
learning, professional development and the increased use of
this important evaluative tool.
EMILIE MCMAHON
I am in the Media Design Field. My project, which is
being funded in part by one of the grants from the CIHR
Strategic Training Program on Pain, will attempt to bridge
the communication gap that often
exists when patients are trying to
communicate their sensations of
pain. My target audience is a small
population of patients that suffer
from a chronic pain condition called
Central Post-Stroke Pain. With
the Pain Expression Tool that I am
developing using Flash, these patients
BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
15
will be able to place icons representing different types of pain
sensation onto the parts of the body where they feel this type
of pain. The resulting “map” will help patients overcome the
verbal difficulties that arise when trying to explain the pain
they feel, in terms that are clinically useful. Potentially, the
Pain Expression Tool could be used to aid in the assessment
and management of pain conditions but at the very least it
provides an emotional outlet for people who cannot find
the words to explain to their friends and family the kind
of pain they live with on a daily basis. The second part of
my project is a series of three Flash animations that will
explains to patients how they feel pain and why their stroke
has caused their condition. Ironically this part has taken up
most of my time, but in terms of advances to the biomedical
communications field, it is less relevant. Nevertheless it has
allowed me to become proficient using Flash.
LORI WATERS
Targeting HIV Infection
The infectious synapse - concentration and focus of virus
particles on dendritic cells at the point of contact with CD4+
T helper target cell receptors - has recently become an area of
increased study within the HIV viral cycle. Containing
multiple potential pharmaceutical targets,
concentration on this area of the cycle may yield
new effective anti-retroviral treatments. The
purpose of this masters research project is to
produce a broadcast quality three-dimensional
visualization accurately demonstrating the
cellular and molecular events of dendritic
presentation, HIV infection, and the molecular
structures and interactions. Aimed primarily at HIV
researchers and university students, this visualization is
the first of its kind to focus on cellular interactions, and to
demonstrate the mechanisms by which dendritic immune
cells enhance the ability of HIV to infect the body and
consequently undermine the immune system. As a visual
synthesis and elucidation of current scientific concepts, it
is hoped that this visualization will increase HIV scientific
ONE LAST THING...
Consistently ranked as one of
AAM/BMC’s most loved instructors:
Steve Gilbert, Critique, circa 1981
(he’s rather timeless)
Dave Mazierski
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BMCAA Newsletter
Spring 2006
understanding, and inspire further research on this portion
of the viral cycle. Visual challenges involved in the creation
of this work include representing a fluid environment, and
differentiating between cellular versus molecular scale
environments.
FRANCES YEUNG
An interactive and animated teaching tool designed to assist
undergraduate embryology students in understanding the
development of the human heart
The development of the human heart is a complex and
multi-dimensional process. The objective of this project is
to assess whether an animation that incorporates multiple
layers of information (for example, internal structures,
external structures, and colour animations representing cell
movement) involved in the embryological development of the
human heart is effective in educating embryology students.
I have developed a website comprised of interactive threedimensional models at four different stages of growth:
1. Tube formation
2. Looping
3. Ventricular septation and
4. Atrial septation.
Each stage shows the morphological changes of the heart.
At key points within each stage, transparency effects are used
to see interior structures in relation to external structures, and
colour is used to animate the cells moving and contributing
to future structures. Furthermore, each model is based on
the latest research of mice embryos (a closer resemblance to
humans) rather than the visuals (chicken embryos) that are
used by many current embryology textbooks.