Page 13 - Luce 2024

I nterview
Since 1995 Dr Drew Berry (1988) has
been a biomedical animator at the Walter
and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
(WEHI). Following Drew’s presentation
at the College in September 2023, JCH
Data Science student and Research
Assistant at WEHI, Callum Sargeant, was
keen to learn more about his work.
How do you define ‘biomedical animation’?
Biomedical animation combines cinema with scientific data
to visually represent our current understanding of biological
mechanisms inside all living things, from microscopic cells
and molecules, to macroscopic anatomy.
‘Wheel of Death’ apoptosis inside a diseased cell
How did your education and early career lead you to working
in this field?
I had great science teachers at school who made it easy
to become fascinated with biology. I went to Melbourne
University specifically to become a marine scientist who studies
sharks. As part of the University marine science program, I had
to take a course in Cell Biology, where I had my mind blown by
the beauty of microscopic organisms called algae, as presented
by Prof. Jeremy Pickett-Heaps. Jeremy’s lab in the BioSciences
building had darkened rooms with many types of microscopes,
filming single celled algae found living everywhere there is
water. I learned how to run many types of microscopes and
how to interpret the images they generate. I was also taught
how to read the scientific literature and comprehend cell
biology discoveries.
As a teenager in the 1980s I was part of the first generation to
grow up with a personal computer. My parents became worried
about me ‘wasting’ my summer holidays playing video games
and goofing around with computer graphics. When I joined
the WEHI in 1995 as their ‘Photoshop guy’, I was motivated
to animate their research about the malaria lifecycle, mainly
as the parasite evolved from algae, so I was already familiar
with its biology. I have since worked on many topics and
diseases, such as cancer, immunology and apoptosis (a type of
cell death in which a series of molecular steps in a cell lead to
its death).
From foundations of computer graphics and cell biology, I have
evolved to become a ‘biomedical animator’, which I believe is
my final form!
What does animation offer to assist in conveying
complex scientific topics and science communication in
general, that is not offered by other media?
J anet Clarke Hall 13