Q: Hello! Ms. HE, we have learned that you have designed covers and illustrations for many science magazines in the United States, so we are very interested in your personal experience. Therefore, we would like to conduct a personal interview with you today.
A: Okay, it is my pleasure.
Q: Please introduce how you chose the career path of illustration.
A: Okay, it is a interesting story. From Sep. 2013 to July 2017, I studied in East China University of Science and Technology and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree of Engineering-Bioengineering.
However, I had observed a phenomenon where individuals studying medicine and bioengineering are highly proficient in the theoretical and textual descriptions of these fields, yet they are quite inept at utilizing medical illustrations to aid comprehension of these descriptions. This deficiency results in a loss of intuition and interest in the theoretical and textual explanations, making them challenging to understand and potentially leading to severe misconceptions.
Later, I discovered that Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) offer master’s degree programs in medical illustration. I believe this is a highly promising interdisciplinary program, and I think it can fully address the aforementioned issues.
Therefore, during the period from Sep. 2018 to Aug. 2022, I had been studying medical illustration in RIT and finally I was awarded a Master’s Degree of Fine Arts- Medical Illustration.
Q: Could you briefly introduce your career development experience?
A: Sure. In fact, while I studying master’s program, I used to served as following positions:
* 3D Modeling Teaching Assistant, Fine Art Graduate Assistant, Graphic Designer (part-time) in RIT;
* Medical Illustrator (contractor) in BioHues Digital;
* Scientific Illustrator/Designer in TrialExhibits, Tampa FL, USA;
After graduated from RIT, I served/serve as Multimedia Designer, Co-founder of Medical Illustration Studio and 3D Medical Animator in Children’s National Hospital Washington DC, Cation Scientific Visualizationa Shanghai and Innovision Shanghai respectively.
Q: Have your illustration works won international awards or participated in international exhibitions?
A: Yes. It is my pleasure to introduce some of my awards and exhibitions.
My works – Inside Monologue won Gold Awards in 2025 ART OLYMPICS INTERNATIONAL ILLUSTRATION COMPETITION.
The inaugural “Art Olympics,” a landmark international art exhibition hailed as the “Olympic Games of the Art World,” opened grandly at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris from May 1 to 31, 2025. Centered on the theme “Creativity Beyond Borders,” this unprecedented event has drawn over 5,000 artists from 127 countries and regions to compete for top honors. Following rigorous evaluation by a panel of global experts, 20 gold medalists have been selected, Our works set to be showcased in the Louvre’s central exhibition hall and simultaneously launched in a worldwide digital tour.
In addition, I have the great honor to jointly organize The two-person exhibition “Beneath the Graceful Contours” together with CHEN Yuetong, an independent printmaking artist based in Japan. The exhibition was held from August 28 to September 1, 2024. Sohu.com reported and evaluated the exhibition as following:
“This exhibition centers on two female artists who each have their own brilliant achievements yet share a deep resonance. Through their distinctive works, they narrate their life journeys to the audience. Taking the female body as their theme, the artists draw inspiration from the profound expressions of feminism and the intricate beauty of female anatomy. Starting from the perspectives of cognition and perception, they combine scientifically rigorous medical illustrations with poetic printmaking, providing the audience with a unique viewing and sensory experience that is a collision and interweaving of rationality and sensibility.”
Further more, my work won the Third Prize of The 7th Medical Visualization Innovation Contest (MVIC 2024).
The Medical Visualization Innovation Contest (MVIC), organized by NEJM Frontiers in Medicine, invites multiple experts from the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) who are affiliated with The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) to serve as judges. All submissions are independently reviewed by the panel of judges, who score the works according to uniform criteria to select the most suitable medical visualization pieces for presentation in NEJM. Since its inception in 2018, the contest has been held for six consecutive years, uncovering a number of hidden talents who rival international outstanding medical illustrators and animators.
Q: How would you like to evaluate yourself?
A: I am a Medical Animator/Illustrator specializing in advancing the field of medical illustration and biomedical animation, with a particular emphasis on creating accurate, accessible, and visually engaging representations of complex medical and scientific concepts. My work directly supports the communication of critical healthcare information to diverse audiences including medical professionals, researchers, patients, and the broader public. As modern medicine becomes increasingly complex and technology-driven, the ability to translate sophisticated biomedical knowledge into clear and precise visualizations has become essential for medical education, clinical training, patient consent, and scientific communication. My expertise in combining scientific accuracy with visual clarity plays a key role in improving understanding, reducing medical errors, and facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare and research settings.
