I recently completed my first commissioned medical illustration. Waiting for the paper it appears in to be published, but meanwhile I can share this unpublished version here. It looks at the steps that take place within a macrophage (a type of white blood cell that engulfs invaders to keep us healthy) to prepare an immune response to infection by a tuberculosis bacterium (or mycobacterium–that’s the thing that looks like a little yellow pool noodle). The paper that is helps to illustrate some background information for is super-interesting so I am looking forward to sharing a link to the abstract when it’s available.

Watercolour and ink, with labels and details added digitally, 2014.