Award-winning project brings biomedical communications to reproductive medicine education

Bridget Xiao-Cha Lu and Kelsey Zhao are second-year students in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto.

Second-year graduate students Bridget Xiao-Cha Lu and Kelsey Zhao have been recognized by the Vesalius Trust, which named Bridget a 2026 Vesalian Scholar and awarded Kelsey a research grant for their collaborative project to create an educational resource in egg retrieval for reproductive medicine trainees.

Egg retrieval–a core step in fertility treatments such as egg donation, egg freezing and in vitro fertilization (IVF) requires precise coordination under ultrasound guidance. Mastering the procedure is difficult. To become proficient may take weeks to months, and greater proficiency means retrieving more eggs, which improves the chance of IVF success.

But early training resources are limited. Trainees rely on text-heavy materials and static images, with occasional access to physical models before advancing to observation and clinical practice.

Under the guidance of Dr. Nigel Pereira at Mount Sinai Hospital and Professor Michael Corrin at the University of Toronto, Bridget and Kelsey are addressing this gap by developing RetrievED.

Clip from RetrievED. A 3D-interactive model depicting relevant anatomical relationships, including stimulated ovaries, internal iliac vessels, and bony landmarks. Courtesy: Bridget Lu

RetrievED is an interactive multimedia resource that integrates written content with illustrations, real ultrasound imaging, videos and interactive visuals. The project is informed by user research, including surveys, which the pair analyzed for patterns and themes. They identified where trainees struggle, how they access content and which formats best support learning.

Bridget is taking the lead on asset creation, while Kelsey is leading on UI/UX design. They are documenting their development process to help other biomedical visualization specialists design for clinical training and learning.

The project's next phase is a comprehensive review of RetrievED's effectiveness in improving trainee confidence and procedural understanding. The team is preparing to present their findings at conferences to bring awareness to the role of biomedical communications in reproductive medicine education.

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Web sites referenced:

Bridget Lu's portfolio bridgetxlu.com/

Nigel Pereira's profile https://www.sinaihealth.ca/physicians/nigel-pereira

Michael Corrin's profile https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff

Vesalius Trust 2026 student award winners

Congratulations to the following MScBMC Class of 2026 Vesalius Trust grants and awards recipients (from top left) Grace Gibson, Athena Li, Bridget Lu, Jinny Moon, Josip Petrusa, Cynthia Pham and Kelsey Zhao.

The Master of Science in Biomedical Communications at the University of Toronto is very pleased to announce the 2026 winners of Vesalius Trust research grants and awards.

Vesalius Trust Research Grant Recipients

Grace Gibson
Athena Li
Josip Petrusa
Cynthia Pham, and
Kelsey Zhao

Vesalian Scholar

Bridget Lu

Steve Harrison Scholarship

Jinny Moon

• BMC student wins Vesalius Trust award for trauma visualization research

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 to all. Well done!

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Linked web sites:

Jinny Moon’s portfolio https://www.jinnymoon.ca

Article: BMC student wins Vesalius Trust award for trauma visualization research https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2026/3/20/2026-steve-harrison-award

Bridget Lu’s portfolio: https://www.bridgetxlu.com

Grace Gibson’s portfolio https://gracecgibson.com

Athena Li’s portfolio https://liathena101.wixsite.com/portfolio

Josip Petrusa’s portfolio https://www.josippetrusa.com

The Vesalius Trust’s web site https://vesaliustrust.org

BMC Speaker Series 2026: Hillary Wilson, Principal, Hillary Wilson Illustration

Principal, Hillary Wilson Illustration

Building your unique path: finding stability in a freelance career

The prospect of freelancing can be daunting. There is very little stability to be found and you are responsible for every aspect of your business. However, with a touch of curiosity, a bit of planning and persistence, and a healthy dose of audacity, it is possible to find stability within the chaos and build a solid foundation for a freelance career.

Date: March 27, 2026
Time: 1 to 2 p.m. (ET)
Location: Online
Webinar Registration Link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HMfE3ogqRsGPJBtvoVKhlw

2026 BMC speaker series full program: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2026/03/23/bmc-speaker-series-2026

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Hillary Wilson is an award-winning independent illustrator based in Durham, North Carolina. She received an MA in medical illustration from Johns Hopkins University in 2018. In her everyday work, she balances two very different visual storytelling skill sets–clear, effective medical illustration and rich, vibrant fantasy illustration.

Hillary’s work can be seen everywhere from patient education materials and surgical journals to collectible Magic: the gathering trading cards and New York Times bestselling novels.

Hillary Wilson Medical Illustration https://www.hwilsonillustration.com

Hillary D. Wilson Art https://www.hdwilsonart.com

Instagram @HillaryDWilsonArt

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-wilson-4a4398b5/

BMC Speaker Series 2026: Greg Brown, Co-creator of AsapSCIENCE

Greg Brown, Co-creator of AsapSCIENCE

MODERATED Q&A

Date: March 26, 2026
Time: 4 to 5 p.m. (ET)
Location: Online
Webinar Registration Link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_a70bwmuiTtm16DcELr5yIQ

2026 BMC speaker series full program: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2026/03/23/bmc-speaker-series-2026

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Greg Brown is a science storyteller, digital creator and queer educator who created (with Mitch Moffit) the viral YouTube channel AsapSCIENCE. With over 10 million YouTube subscribers and billions of views, they transform complex topics into captivating stories using humour, psychology and creativity.

In this world of infinite scrolling and viral trends, Greg–a trained science teacher–took his classroom online and discovered innovative ways to capture attention and inspire a lifelong love of learning.

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

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/AsapSCIENCE

BMC student wins Vesalius Trust award for trauma visualization research

Jinny Moon, MScBMC Class of ‘26 was recognized with the 2026 Vesalius Trust Steve Harrison Award for her research into visualizing the neurobiology of trauma. Collage submitted by Jinny Moon

by Maeve Doyle

The Vesalius Trust named Jinny Moon the recipient of the 2026 Steve Harrison Award. The award recognizes and supports her research into visualizing the neurobiology of trauma.

• Vesalius Trust 2026 student award winners

Moon is a second-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications at the University of Toronto. She received the award for her research proposal, Translating trauma: visualizing the neurobiology of trauma for clinical and public education.

She is conducting her research under the guidance of Dr. Dana Ross who is the co-director of the Trauma Therapy Network of Ontario at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. The program focuses on expanding access to trauma-focused care and supporting both patients and healthcare providers in understanding the impacts of trauma and pathways to healing.

"Trauma has profound effects on the brain and body, yet the underlying neuroscience can be difficult to translate into everyday clinical and lived experience," says Ross. Her goal is to have this science translated into accessible, visually engaging media that improve understanding of trauma and its effects.

Moon was immediately drawn to the project.

"I've always been interested in neurobiology, human behaviour, and cognition," she says. "I've also had a long-standing interest in public health and in mental health."

Her review of existing trauma education materials found several gaps: outdated science, inconsistent visuals and a lack of technical polish. Resources were either too complicated, too simple or reinforced stigma. Few addressed neuroplasticity as a way to explain both the effects of trauma and the brain's capacity to recover.

Moon is applying visual design principles to develop a user-centred online education module. It includes still images and a 2D animation that incorporates a visual metaphor to show how new practices and habits can help build and shape new response pathways.

"If the hospital's platform can support it, there will also be interactive diagrams with clickable hotspots," she says.

"Jinny is producing work that is both scientifically rigorous and deeply considered for its audience," says Professor Shehyrar Saharan, Moon’s supervisor. "I'm really happy that Jinny won. She really deserved it."

Moon says she felt both validated and humbled when she learned that she had received the Steve Harrison Award. "It was encouraging to know others recognized how important the work is and its impact for the audience it serves."

Saharan says that Moon is also preparing a detailed, annotated pictorial account of her process for publication. "This will be a valuable contribution to the biomedical visualization community," he says.

Moon continues to refine the animation, illustrations and narrative elements of her project to create a cohesive learning experience.

She hopes to see the work's integration into the Women's College Hospital's e-learning platform Trauma PORTAL for patients and their CARE training programs for healthcare professionals.

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Web sites referenced

Jinny Moon’s online portfolio https://www.jinnymoon.ca

Announcement: Vesalius Trust 2026 student award winners https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2026/4/2/vesalius-trust-2026-student-award-winners

Women’s College Hospital’s Trauma Portal https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/care-programs/mental-health/trauma-therapy-program/

Women’s College Hospital’s CARE training programs https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/care-programs/mental-health/trauma-therapy-program/

BMC student shares passion for medical illustration with eager audience

Collage of photos from medical illustration workshop for McMaster University undergraduates. Provided by Ravneet Jaura

Ravneet Jaura, a student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto held a medical illustration workshop at McMaster University on March 3, 2026 at the invitation of the McMaster Kinesiology Society.

In the workshop, Ravneet demonstrated her creative process by guiding the attendees through a step-by-step drawing exercise to show key principles such as perspective, line weight, shading and layout. The second-year student designed and created a new original drawing specifically for the activity.

Ravneet also spoke on her academic experience in the Biomedical Communications program including her courses, critiques, and extra-curriculars such as freelancing, co-directing the IMS Magazine design team and serving as a teaching assistant.

"The students had such a positive experience and so many of them discussed how much more interested they were in this field now," said Ravneet.

For more of Ravneet's work, follow her on Instagram @artby_reetu.

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Web sites referenced

Ravneet Jaura’s online portfolio https://www.ravneetjaura.com

Ravneet Jaura’s Instagram profile https://www.instagram.com/artby_reetu/

BMC student creates illustrated resource for caregivers

Emily Huang, MScBMC ‘25, in collaboration with the Caregiver Clinic at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, created an illustrated workbook designed to support caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. Image provided by Emily Huang.

by Maeve Doyle

Caregivers often put aside their own emotional and mental health when caring for patients with advanced cancer.

To address this challenge, Emily Huang, a 2025 graduate of the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto, worked with the Caregiver Clinic at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Huang created an illustrated workbook designed to support caregivers of patients with advanced cancer.

The workbook, titled CALM for Caregivers: An Illustrated Workbook for Caregivers of Patients with Advanced Cancer, was developed by the Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) team at Princess Margaret.

"As part of my master's research project, I transformed CALM's text content into engaging illustrations and graphic narratives to resonate with a caregiver’s lived experience,” Huang says. “Through thoughtful and collaborative design, I created an intuitive workbook that adapts to a caregiver's lifestyle."

Shelley Wall, MScBMC associate director and Huang’s faculty advisor says that “digesting dozens of pages of purely textual information can be daunting, especially for caregivers who are under stress. Emily has used her gift for visual storytelling and design to translate the CALM team's document into a truly welcoming resource that's easy to navigate."

The illustrated workbook is divided into five sections. Each section contains informative cancer content, graphic narrative-based caregiver stories, reflection worksheets, questionnaires, and more. Caregivers can work through the information in any order–as and when they need it–and at their own pace.

Huang says that CALM for Caregivers is now available as a free online resource for caregivers worldwide. The workbook can be accessed on the UHN Princess Margaret Cancer Centre web site:

https://www.uhn.ca/PrincessMargaret/Clinics/Caring_for_the_Caregiver#tab5

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Web sites referenced:

Emily Huang's online portfolio: https://www.emilyhuang.ca

UHN Caring for the Caregiver: https://www.uhn.ca/PrincessMargaret/Clinics/Caring_for_the_Caregiver#tab5

Shelley Wall’s faculty profile: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/#wall

BMC 80–Speaker Series 2025: Ian Suk, Professor of Neurological Surgery and Art as Applied to Medicine, Johns Hopkins University

Ian Suk, BScBMC ‘93

Illustrating complex cases: Practical pearls, and working in academia

In this presentation, Ian Suk will discuss some of the best and most ubiquitous pearls and techniques used in medical illustration, and demonstrate them through comprehensive clinical and scientific published case examples. Through a series of slides, Ian will show how he renders extremely complex imagery using a step-by-step process. He will also highlight some current ‘in progress’ projects to show students his workflow. Ian will also touch on his personal journey in working for institutions, as well as hold an open discussion about full-time employment in the academic field.

Date: July 11, 2025
Time: 2 to 3 p.m.
Location: Graduate Studio HB 317, Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex, University of Toronto Mississauga
Webinar Registration Link: https://forms.gle/RS4bJxjsKRWnQBmeA
2025 BMC speaker series full program: https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2025/01/29/bmc80-speaker-series-2025

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Ian Suk, BScBMC ‘93.

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

Department of Art as Applied to Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine: https://medicalart.johnshopkins.edu

Medical Illustration Podcast marks 80 years of biomedical visualization at the University of Toronto

Host Paul F Kelly, MScBMC Class of '11 has released a special episode of the Medical Illustration Podcast to mark the 80th anniversary of the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program.

Available now! https://www.pkvisualization.com/post/medical-illustration-podcast-biomedical-communications-80th-anniversary