Dave Mazierski

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Research Synopsis

I am a medical illustrator and Professor of Biomedical Communications (BMC) at the University of Toronto. This graduate degree program is unique in Canada, and one of only four accredited programs in North America. My focus on medical illustration began in high school when an art teacher recognized my concurrent interest in biology and told me about the field. I studied Fine Art at the State University College at Buffalo (NY) before transferring to University of Toronto in 1979. In 2010, I obtained a graduate degree in vertebrate paleontology from the University of Toronto.

Colour serves many purposes in scientific visual communication. Initially colour was employed mimetically, depicting the natural world as experienced. Observed colour remains significant in the identification of plant and animal species, as well as in diagnostic pathology (some of the earliest published medical books in colour were atlases of pathology). Over time, the relationship of colour to the observed subject evolved to combine realism and symbolism. For example, anatomical and surgical illustration use red and blue to differentiate arterial and venous circulation. This is useful diagrammatically but does not reflect observed colours, since the elastic tubes which carry the blood are a uniform warm light grey. In the contemporary practice of molecular visualization, colour is completely symbolic as in Corey and Pauling’s schema for labelling atoms, which introduced the convention of using white for hydrogen atoms, red for oxygen, black for carbon, etc.

While techniques of medical illustration have evolved rapidly during my career, from traditional paint and paper techniques to 2-and 3-D computer rendering, colour remains an essential element of visualization research and effective science communication.