a day with the college of medicine – tucson

The more you wish to describe a Universal the more minutely and truthfully you must describe a Particular. – Brenda Ueland

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Wednesday’s adventure begins early as Amy picks me up and we make our way to the College of Medicine. Amy is Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Director of Medical Humanities. Her and I have been organizing today’s workshops along with Marianna at the Tucson Museum of Art.

We arrive to the college, art supplies in tow, and head to the University of Arizona Health Sciences Library where the plan includes picking up 3D anatomical models. We learn models cannot be taken out of the library. We want them for a drawing workshop. Amy makes a phone call and locates some elsewhere.

We proceed upstairs (or maybe downstairs), across a ramp, down an elevator (possibly up an elevator), getting closer to…I’m not exactly sure where. Eventually, I find myself walking a brightly lit, purple hallway, lined with (too many to count) larger-than-life reproductions of Andres Vesalius’ series, De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body).

I’ve always admired the compositions and now this wonderful series of dissection drawings appear as escorts down the long walkway.

We arrive to our classroom and as I organize supplies, people come in. The group is working self-portraits this morning, not an easy undertaking. Medical school teaches anatomy, it helps that most everyone I have encountered in this sort of environment has an understanding of the bone structure and muscles of the face. I give some direction, everyone picks out a paper and a sharpie marker (no erasers!) and begins drawing. I notice there is no hesitation.

James, introduces himself as an infectious disease MD. The question of the primary focal point: Is the mask coming off or is it going back on? The secondary focal point is his bow tie.

Brianna, Palliative Medicine, calls her portrait ‘Tejido‘ and because this is her title, it’s appropriate she add a bit of color.

Amy brings a cut of fresh jasmine from her front porch, to include into her portrait.

Yumi’s portrait will include a blue-stoned necklace that represents aspects of  her mother’s life.

Before closing for the morning, everyone shares their drawing, both form and content. I/We learn something relatable about each person present.

Unbeknown to me, we will be moving to another classroom in another building. Before leaving this area, we need to pick up medical models for the next workshop.

Down another hallway, a male awaits. He and Amy speak before going through double doors. Amy steps back out and waves, signaling with her hands and asking if I would like to come in. I am rolling a crate of supplies which forces me to back into the room. I enter and naturally prop one door open. I turn and slowly realize…I…am…in…THE…anatomy…lab. (Hindsight: Vesalius’ art should have been a clue.) It feels necessary to close the propped door, so I do – meanwhile moving back in awkwardly and uncertain. I pause to look at my surroundings. I feel…a sense of…reverence…for the rows of bodies (donors). It is a large lab and Amy has disappeared into the back which is darkened and seems far away. I note a slight drop in temperature as well as a tad cooler lighting. Though, to my left appears a bright, warm glow of studio lights. Two groups of students are studying (Are they dissecting?) two bodies. Time. Stands. Still. I recall classic “Anatomy Lesson” paintings by both Rembrandt and Galon. I feel stunned and yet honored. I wish I had my camera. I do have my camera. Don’t pull it out. Don’t get distracted. Stay present.

My name is being called; Amy wants me to look at the available models. I walk to the back where she is gathering pelvis bones and shoulder blades. Before we exit the lab, she calls out to the students telling them they are welcome to join us for the drawing workshop and lunch. A few say they may come. We rush out, now rolling a cart as we head (walkways, elevators, ramps, elevators) to the other side of the medical school. We arrive to a large classroom where students are gathering, chatting and eating lunch.

I set out a materials, introduce myself, give instruction and watch as activity begins.

This afternoon’s study focuses on an organ or system of the human body. Everyone has access to a lot of supplies including a variety of mediums.

I move through the group asking questions and sharing thoughts. I want to know the what and why.  A personal story surfaces for each work created.

Amy, who had no plans to draw, picked up one of the medical models and completes a beautiful pelvis. It’s my favorite bone, she says.

She’d shared something with me earlier in the day. Amy! I call out, Tell everyone why you didn’t like your anatomy class. She waves a hand back and forth saying, Because the body is messy!

Today, in the studio, as I work a new drawing – a life-size human study –  I cannot help but think about Amy’s words. #BiologicalSystemsAreMessy

Thank you Amy, for the invite and for the great adventure. Thanks for sharing your world with me.
Thank you to all of you who brought your full selves to the drawing table, made art and shared story.
Thank you to Marianna and the Tucson Art Museum, for all the cool art supplies.
A special thanks to the College of Medicine and the Medical Humanities Program and everyone who made this experience possible.

#NothingInStasis #YouGottaHaveArt #OutsiderInsiderWithNewEyes

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©2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

a concoction of small life

organizing pathogens

In the studio, I think about how to group this series of small works. Arranging and rearranging, until maybe, I am satisfied. 

Eventually I pull out all (all!) of my under the microscope studies from the last year and recall a conversation with Tapoka.

Me: I can’t call a whipworm a microbe, can I?
Tapoka: I think it is a microorganism as it is small but it has many cells. I believe microbes are usually single celled like a bacteria would be.

According to my handy-dandy Medical Meanings, second edition glossary:

Micro– is a combining form, usually used as a prefix, that is a near borrowing of the Greek mikros, “small, petty, trivial”.
And…
Microbe– is a concoction of micro- + the Greek bios, “life”, proposed in the late 19th century to designate any minute, living organism; useful as a generic term for the gamut from viruses to protozoa.

Based on everything I’ve learned and considering the last year we’ve had, I have no appreciation for the meaning of mikros including words like petty or trivial. 

I tack all my work up. It appears I have a concoction of small life on the studio wall.

I know human body as ecosystem with diverse population living within. Some of those organisms cooperate, others (most?) compete with each other and with host. Microbes manipulate. Survival…
#cooperation #competition #life #NothingInStasis 

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FYI: UPPERCASE (50th edition) published a few of my pathogens. Magazine out in July!
Click on image to see expanded version.

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©2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

putting the puzzle together

When it’s better for everyone, it’s better for everyone.  Eleanor Roosevelt

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After my conversation with Tapoka, I’m better able to understand an earlier discussion with Maria (Duque), whom as you might recall also works with Trichuris trichiura, aka the whipworm. Duque explained When the eggs arrive in the caecum, they hatch in a process that is dependent on microbiota. We can recreate this in the lab by incubating T.muris eggs (blue) ↓ with Escherichia coli (yellow). My PhD student, Tapoka Mkandawire, is investigating how this happens.

Picture by by microscopy guru David Goulding.

It looks like the bacteria aggregates around a region of the egg called polar plug. Then, the polar plug is dissolved and the larvae that is inside comes out.

When the eggs arrive in the caecum, they hatch in a process that is dependent on microbiota.

While I absolutely love the blue stain in the scientific photograph, in keeping with the bigger picture of this series, I use vermillion and sienna, part of the unifying palette.

Tapoka and I continue our conversation about bacteria in the human intestine. She explains a crosstalk of sorts, that goes on between worm and bacteria, resulting in infection. I listen for the various things I’ve learned about other bugs, that have to come into play, like temperature and oxygen.

She returns to explaining DNA sequencing of the many species of bacteria in the intestine. It’s like a picture box. We’re going to put this all together because we have so much information. All the pieces of the puzzle will come together!

Of course a puzzle ↓ element surfaces. #PoopSample #InformationGathers

Curious, I ask Tapoka a final question: It just feels to me like the potential for serious disease is always present with whipworms. What purpose do they serve, if any, in the human gut?

They do cause serious illness when you have an acute infection (high numbers of worms), and it is not good for children in particular under 5 as it has an impact on nutrition and development. However the flip side is that parasites like the whipworm are really good at sending signals to our immune system. We hope in the future to be able to use these signals to help people with auto immune diseases; starting with those in the gut like Celiac and Irritable Bowel.

Tapoka sends video. One is eggs and hatched larvae (very clean). She likes that it appears the worm is waving hello. I appreciate her light-hearted nature.

I take a final opportunity to draw one more whipworm. I can’t help but emphasize the linear shape/quality of this parasite.

I begin this public engagement project with the whipworm and chance directs I end with it.
#ICircleBack 

The science is fascinating and the work is important. This entire experience has been/is organic. Art making is the way I learn. With this series I experimented with new surfaces, forms and materials. 
#GottaHaveArt #GottaHaveLife

And this post will end with Tapoka’s take on Eleanor’s words: It doesn’t get better for everyone until it gets better for everyone. 
#NeglectedTropicalDiseases

 

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©2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

the role of host intestinal bacteria in trichuriasis

This week I meet Tapoka Mkandawire, a scientist out of the Welcome Sanger Institute.

Tapoka’s focus is Trichuriasis, a disease I cover earlier in this public engagement project. Looking at the role of the host intestinal bacteria (microbiota) in inducing the hatching of whipworm eggs, she brings  another angle to the picture.

Trichuriasis is a disease caused by infection with Trichuris trichiura, the human whipworm; affecting over 450 million people. She reminds me, the infection occurs when people eat food or drink water contaminated with whipworm eggs. These eggs hatch in the intestines liberating worms that burrow into the intestinal wall.

In my work I collect various samples from the intestine, different bacteria reside in specific communities or sections along the gut and they have different properties and functions as a result of this. Some of these samples are also better at inducing hatching of the whipworms than others. We can look at the DNA of these communities through metagenomic analysis and get an in-depth understanding of the members and the functions of these populations and relate this to their ability to cause whipworm hatching.

Tapoka describes the barrel shaped egg ↑ and its pair of polar plugs at each end and continues, When the parasite eggs get to the cecum they detect that this is the environment they need to be in to establish an infection. Part of the way they can detect this is through the bacteria, as like the worms, different bacteria prefer different parts of the gut. The bacteria in the caecum, are a signal to the worm in the egg that it is in the right place. Once that signal has been received the process of hatching can begin. During hatching the polar plugs on the egg, the little blobs at either end, are eroded away and then the worm is free to swim out of the egg into the gut where it can infect cells. This eroding or degrading of the polar plugs is done by enzymes expressed by the worms and bacteria.

I particularly enjoy detailing the bacteria.

And adding depth.

I ask her to define metagenomics. A collection of genetic material from a mixed community of organisms….lots of DNA coming from different species.

Oops! I take this to far and will have to bring it back.

We end up talking about the uniqueness of the individual all the way down to the uniqueness of their bugs (microbiome).

Tapoka: We curate our microbes!
Me: We curate our gut microbiome?
T: Yes, and it’s a diverse variety. Imagine a hive of activity! A swarm! Chaos!
M: Do you know what bacteria is doing what, and where?
T: I’m getting closer!

I’m getting close too…as color pulls this all together.

And with this, the conversation turns to poop and all the information a stool sample can gather. She also talks about the hygiene hypothesis and the missing friends theory. 

I’m curious, can you send a stool sample image? Under the microscope? She can and she does!

She sends many files labeled Poo/Debris Under Microscope.
Above ↑ and below ↓ are one sample at two different magnifications.

Question: What is all this where looking at here? And what, in particular, is the bright perfect circle?

I don’t know about you, but this stuff makes me think of the work of Paul Klee!

Below is my mixed media version of … a poo smear. #someprocess

materials for a collage

There is such a value to drawing and painting things out for me. #looking #seeing
It’s truly how I learn.

I’m not finished…there’s a little bit more I think I want to cover with this bacteria/whipworm/cecum/egg thing.

Good to meet you Tapoka, I have to admit, this was fun. Thank you!

For more about Tapoka Mkandawire → LinkedIn.

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©2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

spike protein / chief rank

While I want only to draw and paint, I will share a few things (that I sort of understand) about the spike protein.

The most obvious identifying feature, and for me it’s the pull to draw the coronavirus again (and again), is the spike protein (S protein). By now everyone is familiar with this proteinscape (yes, I made the word up) along the outer edge of the virus which forms the identifying crown that it is named after.

Visually, I appreciate layout, structure and textural qualities.

I purchase new materials and enjoy the freedom archival marking pens bring me (I do not let go of paint and brush). The pens allow for a tighter and narrower clean line that holds its fluidity.

I look up the word protein to find it comes from the Greek proteios defined as chief rank or first place. Interesting, though I can’t say this helps me get any clearer on S proteins. (…or perhaps it does…)

There are many proteins involved in the coronavirus assembly, including M protein (membrane protein) and E protein (envelope protein).

I understand S proteins are glycoproteins meaning they contain a carbohydrate (a slippery sugar molecule) which helps disguise the virus so as not to be detected by host cells.
#penetrating #fusing

Without the S protein, viruses like the (novel) SARS-CoV-2 would not be able to interact with the cells of its potential host and cause infection. It also neutralizes antibodies after infection. Consequently, the S protein was/is ideal target for vaccine and antiviral research.
→ #ChiefRank

Are some proteins programmed to be so sneaky? #SurvivalOfTheMostAdaptable

This subject is more complicated than I can say…so it’s wise for me to return to the studio. I’m keeping this simple. (Cuz I don’t know a virologists and if I did I wouldn’t interrupt them right now cuz they’re probably very busy.)

Spike protein, I wish I’d never heard of you. Go away.

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©2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

under the microscope – unembryonated whipworm eggs

It is late 2018, when Maria brings the idea of a public engagement project to my drawing table.

In the early part of our conversation and planning (before we zoomed…we skyped? or something to that effect).

I could not have imagined then I would be connecting with a number of scientist from different countries, discussing various pathogens and diseases….uh…much less, during a pandemic.

And consequently creating a series of small studies. I call the work studies because as I learn, I draw and paint. I also want to note I find a new circular format, work on a different surface, experiment with new brushes… #ChangeIsGood

Today I talk to Dr. María Adelaida Duque, the scientist and her work.

Maria: I am a Colombian immunologist with a passion to understand host-pathogen interactions, she explains, that underlie infectious diseases endemic in low and middle-income countries such as Colombia.

During my career I have studied different infectious diseases including Chagas disease caused by the infection with Trypanosoma cruzi (a protist), tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (bacteria infecting the lung), and currently trichuriasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by Trichuris trichiura (alias Whipworm).  

While in studio I focus on the whipworm and it’s eggs but I want to know more about neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Maria: They are a group of 17-20 different diseases affecting more than 1 billion people in low and middle-income countries mainly in the tropics and subtropics of Latin America, Asia and Africa (https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/ntd/diseases/index.html, https://www.who.int/teams/control-of-neglected-tropical-diseases). These diseases are related to poverty and the lack of proper sanitation. Some of them were actually present in USA and European countries but the introduction of sanitation put them under control. Because they do not affect wealthy countries, there is not much investment in research and development of drugs and vaccines to control them.

She asks me to imagine teaching children about sanitation and hand-washing, in an area where water is not easily accessible.

We get infected with this parasite when we ingest eggs present in contaminated food or water, she says.

Her image is labeled Worm in the cecum. Because I spend last summer drawing cross sections of the intestine (and enjoyed it!), I recognize some things.

My sensibility pulls to the small circular detailed areas (not typical of the cecum) which are unembryontaed eggs inside a female whipworm (transverse cut).  While the visual appeals to my eyes, I don’t forget the female T. trichiura produces 2,000–10,000 single-celled eggs a day!

I admire how microscopic images are laid out usually showing changes occurring in organ/organism. I decide for a similar layout to show the evolution of my study, layout to completion.

line, color, shape, form, space, texture, scale

Note thick, oval-shape shell with plugs at both end, that protect the egg. The whole thing is covered by vitelline membrane. #stable
I could probably do a whole series on the egg development. #stages

Ww Eggs in Cecum (working title), Casein and ink on wood panel, 8.5″ diameter

Do eggs hatch in the intestine?  And is hatch the correct word to use?

All unembryonated eggs need moisture and temperature to embryonate, Maria explains, which in nature they find in the soil, that is why whipwomrs are soil-transmitted helminths.

Unembryonated eggs travel through the intestine, exit the body in the stool and eventually become embryonated eggs.  They can be present in contaminated food and water. Consider they may end up in the little hands of children playing with soil, ingested and eventually arrive to the intestine and hatch.

Questions:
Can human whipworm eggs be seen in the soil? With or without microscope? (I’d guess you need a microscope.)
In particular locations, could/would soil be sequenced? 

Trichuris muris – Parasite eggs on my drawing table

I ask Maria about her research and its results: I foresee the results of my research will help us to develop new drugs and a vaccine (currently there is not one), to fight trichuriasis, but also to understand how the infection with whipworms can promote the resolution of inflammatory diseases such as IBD and allergies.

Thank you Maria, for initiating this public engagement and for sharing your work with me.
Muchas Gracias!

For more about work and publications → Dr. María Adelaida Duque

Next post, I plan to take you into the cecum and tell you more about Trichuris trichiura (aka whipwrom). And I need to decide if I’ll be drawing more whipworms (I did once- look). I bet I will!

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©2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

all things bacteria

But where is the bacteria?

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I meet Dr. Sandra Reuter, microbiologist turned bioinformatician. I find her work [so] fascinating, [sooooo] abstract (read between the lines…this is hard stuff). Sandra lives in Germany working at a university hospital. She explains, I have set up the sequencing here so that we can sequence anything of interest!

Bioinformatician’s combine biology, medicine and health-related studies with information technology. They collect and interpret data covering a range of fields. I gather Sandra’s  focus is genomics, pathogens and microbial evolution.

Sandra jumps right in, Generally I am interested in all things bacteria, and especially those that cause disease. And I am interested in how they develop or evolve to cause disease, how they adapt. And lately, also how they move around a hospital system…I use whole genome sequencing to track these changes and adaptions in the genetic code.

In my PhD thesis, I worked on Yersinia. One of the species in this genus is Y. pestis, the plague bacterium, however I was more interested in a distant relative, Y. enterocolitica, that causes diarrhoea. There are different types of Y. enterocolitica, and I was looking into how they each came to be and what made them unique. I also then compared it back to Y. pestis, because both of them being pathogenic with similar markers could mean they both have a common ancestor that also had that trait. In fact, I found that they are not that related, and that they both came up with the same idea of pathogenesis seemingly independently!

I get so caught up in what she actually does as a scientist instead of what I need to focus on for my work. Before my brain has any sort of visual she shares info about superbugs, she simplifies genome sequencing (if this is possible) for me…talking family, ancestry, fingerprint, isolates, transmission chain of infection, bugs from different cities…etc.

The bug talk…one main chromosome, plasmids (extra bits of DNA), antibiotic resistance genes, quorum sensing. Sandra smells the plates, as the bacteria do smell slightly different depending on what they are and eat and which gases they produce (for some reason the latter brings memories of ceramic class).

I ask, do you have visuals, of any bacteria?

No she doesn’t have images of actual bacteria explaining she looks at bacteria in a different way…I draw phylogenetic trees ↓  to show their evolutionary relationships.

Sandra explains: This is a tree (spread-out view ↑) of different Yersinia species. On one side is what we call species complex (SC) 1 – pestis the plague bacillus, its close relative pseudotuberculosis, and also similis (as in similar to pestis and pseudotb). On the other side towards the bottom is enterocolitica (SC5), with different biotypes. In between: all the other environmental species, that don’t cause disease in humans but maybe insects (nurmii, entomophage) and trout (ruckeri). We compared it with the different biochemical tests used to identify the species (the red, blue, and grey boxes) and can see why some tests may be problematic, as they can’t tell species apart with confidence.

EMRSA-15 context: This ↑ is a tree (circular view)…EMRSA-15 isolate from around the UK. She explains details including computer use to organize information.

Though I am not expecting images of this sort and my mind isn’t really registering the content, I like their form and think they’re cool! I will use the circular (already established) format. Maybe I might (might!) bring in the first tree (spread out view).

She also explains gram stain which includes structure and color, something I can hold on to easily!

Gram staining is a way to colour bacteria. Under a microscope they are very tiny, so to see them better, we can put some colours on. And the behaviour comes back to how the cell wall is made up (structure!). The staining is done in several steps. In the first step, you use a purple dye (color!). Then in the second step you first fix the colour and then use ethanol to rinse them. Because the cell wall in Gram positives is thick, they retain the dye and are therefore purple. To stain the Gram negatives, you then use another dye in the last step, so they are red (another color!) in the end.

My last question to Sandra considers what is going on in the world these days, with the pandemic. Who will win? Microbe or human? She talks about both human and microbe becoming more or less aggressive. Both will win, she decides, each will adapt and continue…to survive. I like her attitude and appreciate the answer.

Going into the studio after our meeting, I look closely at the wonderful phylogenetic trees. I’m not certain I can replicate them by hand. (Oops! I really mean to say reproduce here but I’ll leave the word replicate!)

I let go of the bacteria I was hoping to draw via this sketch (note: it’s gram-negative!) so that I can figure out how to approach this next work.

On this particular day I think Gram-positive/Gram-negative. I see the yin/yang and the unplanned (but welcome) DNA strand that makes itself visible.

Finally getting clear, I will focus on Yersinia pestis, plague bacterium. I have an idea and head out to the map store to buy a map of the globe.

Sandra, it was good to spend a Friday morning speaking with you all the way in Germany! I can tell that you love your work! Thank you so much for sharing it with me.

More about → Dr. Sandra Reuter 

Let’s see what I come up with for Y. pestis and the plague!
#flea #rattas #zoonotic #vector #reservoir #puzzle

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©2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

aspergillus / filamentous fungi

Not exactly certain how to begin the art part of the art and science Public Engagement Project with Maria Duque (remember we’re in a pandemic), I decide to send an introduction email to the group of scientists she’s gathered.
#1Engage

I’m excited when the first response comes in from → Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo, who is from the Mycology Reference Laboratory of Spain (Madrid). She works in the diagnosis, treatment and management of fungal infections and resistance.

She sends some information and explains other things I’ve asked for might not be available immediately (website maintenance), and she also tells me other info is in Spanish. I should have expected the latter. I smile because for me reading science research is challenging to understand in English and could probably be even more complicated to read and understand, in Spanish. It’s fine, if necessary, we can talk.
#2Will!

I open up images she sends…and oh!!!!

How can fungus and mold have such beautiful form? Shouldn’t I have an aversion to it?  Did I mention Ana researches Aspergillus?

Aspergillus acquired its name from the fact that its structure resembles an aspergillum (cool word I recall from Catholic school days). The small brush (aka liturgical implement) used by a priest to sprinkle holy water is called an aspergillum and derives from the Latin verb aspergere, which means to sprinkle or spray.

Does Aspergillius actually spray…anything? Does it produce fungi spores that release into the atmosphere? Or is the name only related to its form/shape? (And can I really refer to it as a bug? – because we’ve been referring to the microbes and worms as bugs and this feels more like plant.)
#3Relate!

I’m curious about the structure of these pathogenic, opportunistic organism (found indoors and outdoors). In particular I am drawn to the long branching filamentous extensions. What is hyphae?  Hypha(e), from the greek, meaning web are thread-like to my eyes. I studied this fungus once before; I have so much more to learn.
#4Curiousity

The excitement to draw the wonderful (playful) details I see in the various hi-resolution images…well, it sends me to the art store. I start to consider variety (something different) in materials, shapes and sizes.

I look at paper, canvas and panels and none of it pulls at my attention. On the drive home, I decide I want a flat, rich surfaced, circular form. My husband offers to help, we take a trip to the hardware store, and out come the power tools. As the weekend draws to a close, I have circular panels in various sizes, to paint.
#5Support!

Final note (and one of the reasons for the education):
The most important part of my research, says Ana, is that antifungal resistance rates are increasing so this can be a problem in the near future as it is with bacteria.

There are not many antifungal drugs available to treat these infections and the rise of drug resistance in the last years is very worriesome. 

Aspergillus, Mixed media on wood, 12″ round

Come back for more on the work of Ana Alastruey-Izquierdo. 

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©2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

international steam day

Today we celebrate science, technology, engineering, art and math. Good time to announce an art and science project in the planning! #STEAM

I introduced you to scientist (y amiga) Maria, originally from Colombia, now in the UK (Sanger Institute). In 2018, we discuss a public engagement project, originally scheduled for 2019 and includes travel. A glitch brings a pause to things. We reconnect to one more time look at working together (pandemic restrictions nix travel).

The last few weeks we connect on Zoom to talk art, science, microbes, parasites and education (yes, yes…and a little politics).

A new plan is emerging. #process

Maria works to organize a list, including scientists from the US, Belgium, Ireland, Uk, Portugal, Germany, Uruguay, Malawi, Spain, Venezuela, Colombia and Australia. She includes their organism (microbes and parasites) of interest, the disease they cause, and the organs in the human body affected.

I narrow down 5 – 6 scientists from the list. I’m open, Though I naturally gravitate to particular organisms and organ systems. I believe 3-4 have agreed to work with us so far.

General idea (as of now) includes I meet each scientist and with their help (their research material), I create a visual. #WhereArtistAndScientistMeet #Intersection

You’ll get a glimpse into the process. You learn. Perhaps you participate…
Do you have questions? Do you have information? Do you want a create a visual of your own? I don’t know, you tell me. Let’s see…
#SomethingCreative #AnExperiment #Engage #Educate

Phase 1, in the planning. We’re thinking about a name that includes all the characters involved.
…The Artist, the Scientist, the Microbes and Parasites…
#Art #Science #Collaborate

I’ve been reading (thanks for info Robin @ Phoenix College).
Art… it brings a lot to the picture… →Interdisciplinary STEM education reform: dishing out art in a microbiology laboratory.

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©2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY MONICA AISSA MARTINEZ

gut. brain.

What do you visualize when you read the phrase Gut-Brain Axis? Or Brain-Gut Connection?

I picture very active brains communicating with very active intestines. Or is it the other way around? Both. It’s a two-way, busy connect especially when you consider the wandering nerve, aka, the vagus nerve. Think: 2-way, information highway. The vagus nerves are paired cranial nerves (CN X) and happen to be my favorite of all the nerves.  Because it is the longest nerve in the body it moves alongside heart and lungs and goes through all the organs of the digestive tract, connecting brain to gut.

I enjoy the challenge of capturing Veronica’s likeness while I work her profile.  I organize and sketch in the brain. The small area of my drawing is detailed into a collaged map of El Paso,TX,  where my cousin lives.

I have fun with the photo ↑ and strategically place color pencils to direct attention to the brainstem, the area of the brain I am working to understand.  I imagine the space to be like a facility loaded with chemicals and chemical messengers / hormones and neurotransmitters. Think: Food intake. Signals and controls. Many and complex. (FYI – purple pencil points to vagus nerve start.)

Some of the hormones involved include adipoectin (a protein hormone that modulates glucose regulation and fatty acid oxidation), and leptin (made by fat cells and decreases appetite).

Veronica, during our initial conversation, noted ghrelin. Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates appetite. If I understand correctly, it is primarily released in the stomach and signals hunger to the brain. It also plays a role in determining how quickly hunger returns after a meal. And it promotes fat storage. After my surgery, she says, no more ghrelin. No more! What does this mean?  Forever? I ask.  I don’t know, she answers. And now you eat because??
I must live! Ah…survival!

Side note: The hormones that play a role in obesity, do they also play a role in anorexia?

I haven’t brought the microbiome in yet. But I will. Now when I hear gut-brain, I also think of microbes.  FYI…they can influence hunger and satiety.

Anyway…I’m still laying ground work…which is both complicated to figure out and complicated to draw. Both my brain and my hands are keeping busy.

One more thing…
In early posts I highlight the brown adipose tissue (BAT) and the white adipose tissue (WAT). Now I study and set in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) located under the skin and visceral adipose tissue (VAT).

In the image above, ↑ I enhance (darker area) the greater omentum (cool name! for an organ) , an example of VAT. It looks like lace, doesn’t it?  This apron of fatty tissue, connective tissue and lymphatics,  comes down from the stomach and stretches over the intestines. The greater omentum, aka, Policeman of the abdomen, might just be the first line of defense against toxins or infections (microbes).

BTW…yes, there is also a lesser omentum…

Meanwhile… drawing circles/making connections.

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Keeping a note:
Amylin is a hormone, co-stored and co-secreted with insulin in response to nutrients. It promotes satiety by mediating brain function, including appetite inhibition.

Amylin also plays a role in neural regeneration. It helps regulate glucose metabolism and modulates inflammation. I pull it aside and note it here because of a possible link to Alzheimer’s Disease (Type II Diabetes).

i draw beautiful whipworms (note to self – these are parasites)

What a nice surprise to hear from María Adelaida. I’m pleased to learn she keeps an eye on my work as she notes my recent activity on microorganisms.

I know María from years back (2008-09). She is a biologist originally from Colombia, she’s in the valley working for the Mayo Clinic when I meet her at a friends party. She attends one of my art openings before moving to Germany to continue her education.

These days she lives in the UK and works at the Sanger Institute. Her current research is intestinal parasitic worms that cause neglected tropical diseases with a huge impact on children.

She has an idea for collaboration that includes a public engagement project.  Does she know how often I think about opportunity to engage with the public? It’s on my mind a lot especially after my summer artist residency at the Tempe Center for the Arts.

Maria Adelaida’s research is the Whipworm and Trichuriasis.

We talk about art as a form of communication. She talks about her work reaching a new audience. I enjoy the idea of my work reaching a different audience as well. She speaks STEM, I bring the A in and speak STEAM.

I’m intrigued. Can you send photos of these whipworms?

She sends a series of electron microscope images. Oooooh! The first ones, in black and white, defined and beautiful, show the marking and pattern of the male worm. He appears to float in stillness (I don’t imagine the intestines are a quiet place. Are they?)

Soon I receive a Powerpoint of larvae that is out of the eggs, she says, in the presence of bacteria. (I can’t identify the bacteria.) And then more photos patterned and stained bright show the internal structure of an adult female whipworm infecting the cecum of a mouse. A transversal section shows the eggs.

I make time to get to my drawing table. I want to better understand what I see.

Cecum, Eggs and my imagination.

I spend a day drawing the cecum, a pouch connecting the small and large intestine. I imagine the area with little light (dark) so I take my drawing into a filter and play with it ↑.

Cecum is from the Latin caecus and means blind – blind intestine, blind gut or cul de sac.
Maria identifies the super beautiful cecum epithelia and explains it is only a single layer of cells, that is folded in ‘crypts’ to maximize the area. 

I note the eggs. I wonder how long they take to hatch. (Is this the correct language? Do they hatch?)

I spend a few days looking at photos and drawing worms. Yes, they do resemble a whip.

The female is larger than the male. I’m surprised to know the thinner narrower end of the worm is where the mouth is located while the wider end is its rear.

I take the image into a filter and again imagine the inside of the large intestine.

I get lost in the drawing.  I have to remind myself these are parasites that cause serious problems to the host. #DrawingInProcess #2sided

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I learn from Dr María A Duque-Correa whipworm infection causes Trichuriasis, which affects millions of children around the world. Her goal is to more fully understand the initial stages of the epithelia infection by the larvae, a crucial step that determines whether the worms are expelled or remain in the gut causing chronic disease. In the long term, this knowledge will help to develop vaccines and discover drugs to fight whipworm infections.

Here is one of her public engagement programs → Worm Hunters.

Crossing my fingers that we will work together in the future.

art and science

Creativity is essential to the scientific process.

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Do you know there is an International Society for Evolution, Medicine and Public Health?
→ #ISEMPH2018 

Today I know more about Evolution Medicine than I do the Spring day back in March when I meet with Joe Alcock, here in Phoenix. By the time that Saturday afternoon is over, I have an invite to attend ISEMPH’s summer conference in Park City, Utah.

I can’t make it but my compositions will … make an appearance.

Joe selects a number of artworks to use for posters supporting various conference topics. Director Janice Mancuso invites me to send my line of coasters using the specific works (and hands!…she likes the hands with the eyeball embedded into the palm).

I would have learned so much…

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Listening to → Joe’s Evolution Medicine Podcasts, I come across this ↑ one morning. Maybe you recognize Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life and to the right is my artwork ‘Portrait of Sara – Head in Profile, Arms Akimbo’. #Cool #WhereArtMeetsScience

In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.
– Charles Darwin

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sims lab – the practice

Invited to visit the Sims Lab at the Phoenix Biomedical campus, I think – mannequin designed to simulate human vital signs – things like breath and pulse. I don’t imagine a complete hospital environment – including sounds – High Fidelity Simulation. I can’t know I’ll meet numerous mannequins including smaller trainers.

Briana walks me into an area that’s ready for an OB lab. She refers to the trainers, I assume she is talking about students in training. I see no students. A trainer, I learn, is a tool, equipment and/or technology, shaped like a human body (full or partial) aiding in the teaching/learning process in medical school. Briana  pulls out a couple of them and explains their use to me.

We move into another room and come across a full body mannequin on a hospital bed, in what appears like an operating room/lab. Briana apologizes for the mess. Mess? I see sterile and clean. She points to things that are out-of-order. In an emergency situation where seconds matter, equipment and tools are in their place.

I touch the mannequin. I’m relieved he doesn’t feel real, at least not the skin surface. Briana helps me to feel organs and bones.

We head down the hallway to meet Victoria (below), a birthing mannequin. Yes, a mannequin that gives birth. Here is where I get a better sense of what high fidelity simulation means.

Briana explains the mechanisms while I note a 2-way mirror.  Medical students learn to respond to a full birthing experience, including sound. As in real-life each birth, and so each simulation, is unique. It all goes smooth or it doesn’t.

We come across placenta sitting on a table (of course we do).

Briana: It is birthed 35-45 minute after baby.
Me: Are there contraction?
Briana: Yes.

Briana mentions placenta brain. The phrase, not necessarily the explanation, brings a visual to my mind.

Me: I understand it’s a part of the secondary endocrine system.
Briana: It carries all the hormones that mom and baby need.

Right at this point I notice Briana is pregnant. We talk about various cultural norms concerning placenta. She explains it is also freeze-dried, ground and encapsulated, so mom (and nursing baby) may continue to benefit from the nutritious placenta for a good while after delivery.

Across the room I see 2 more mannequins – male and female. As we exit, I’m glad to know Victoria isn’t alone.

Briana: Let’s go see the kiddos!
Me: Kiddos?
We enter a smaller dark area. Lights come on bright and for a second I feel like I’m backstage at a theater production.  

Briana: Victoria’s bellies are hidden back here.
Me: Victoria’s bellies?!
Three fabulous bellies! As I write this I don’t recall if Briana says this or I do. I think she says it and I feel it true – they are fabulous! …and in various stages of pregnancy siting across the narrow table.

I learn about Leopold’s maneuvers.

And then I meet the kiddos… I hold one and as directed I roll it tightly in my hands like it might be while in utero. It is smooshy, flexible and surprisingly heavy. Average weight, Briana notes.

She then opens up the less common vertical C-section belly (below) and calls out the layers. Particularly interested in fascia, it’s the only layer (white) I focus on.

Off to stage right is the plug-in station …
I don’t say this but i think it. Babies, they lighten everything up.

We walk into a few more mock hospital rooms that include infants and young children on gurneys. Briana wipes the eyes of one of the mannequins and cleans the mouth of another. I sober up understanding the elements in these environments are for training students before they meet real people in real events.

Completing the tour, I ask about the student’s emotions and reactions. Yes, these are also part of the learning experience. It’s all about the full practice of medicine.

Briana works at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in the Center for Simulation and Innovation. Her background is in Cardiology and Cardiology Intensive Care.
She heads off to a meeting and I return to my studio.

Photo from the Tempe History Museum currently on view – 4th floor HSEB.

Note:
While I walk across the hall and take the 4 flights of stairs down – again I can’t help but think about being an artist. I especially appreciate the unusual experiences my work brings me. I could not have imagined any of this in all my years of art school.

Thank you Briana. We both have newborns in the planning – mine will be in 2D (probably on canvas) while yours will show up in 3D (real-life). Best wishes!

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My artwork – Nothing In Stasis (solo exhibition) is on view through the first week of April.
Monday-Friday, 9-5

At the Health Sciences Education Building
Phoenix Biomedical Campus (PBC)
435 N. 5th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004-2230
Map (PDF)
Parking Information

→ Health Science Education Building

where art and science intersect

The title to this post is the direction I plan to take a 7-minute talk yesterday.  I discuss both art and science, but I never do say they intersect in my studio – every single day. It’s true. They do.

I am among 4 people Michelle Dock invites to take part in a STEAM themed panel for the annual AZ SciTech conference, held at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. The general focus for the conference is STEM. I am there to bring ART into the conversation.

Michelle makes introductions. I walk center stage and greet the audience ready to begin -and the only person in my mind, at that moment, is Leonard Da Vinci. I let go of my opening line and talk about him. He designed a tank, a submarine, a flying machine and he brings perspective into the picture plane. He covers all the areas of STEM before STEM even exists. And he certainly covers STEAM. He is the archetypal Renaissance man, I say to the audience.

I don’t plan to begin my talk with Leonardo, but it feels right. Truth is, along with old and new medical illustration books, microscopic photographs and videos – his anatomy study is always somewhere on my drawing table.

From Leonardo I return to the 21st century and introduce my Cell/Map of Phoenix (no photo) and naturally follow with the recently completed Portrait of Sophie, a Study of Trisomy 21. Cell structure, the nucleus, chromosomes, DNA and genes are the connecting threads. I look at her for a good while before I can say anything. I’m struck by how large and bright the form stands on the screen in front of me.

And because I have two minutes to spare, I gather my thoughts and end with my work on mylar,  Anatomy of the Thorax (anterior and posterior view),  influenced by a Gunther von Hagens’ dissection. I refer to him as the Body World’s guy. I can tell by their reaction, the audience knows who he is.  Do they know he’s influenced by Rembrandt? Gunther always appears in public with a fedora, in honor of the painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicloaes Tulip.

Can someone tell me why it isn’t STEAM all the time? Art is a powerful language communicating via line, color, texture, form, repetition and all the other elements of design. It enters into all the other fields. If Leonardo was alive today, it would be no other way. Maybe that’s why he takes over my brain…

So … Where do art and science intersect? In my studio, on my drawing table, on my paper and canvas – each and everyday!

Also on the panel:
Michelle Dock, Tempe Center for the Arts (Moderator)
Catyana Falsetti (Forensic Artist)
Dianne Hansford, PhD (Special Modeling)
Konrad Rykaczewski, PhD (Biomimicry)

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You have a few more days to catch STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics) at the Tempe Center for the Arts. It closes this Saturday, Sept 17th.