The power of the image to explain and inspire

This article featured in Illuminate Newsletter Winter ‘22

The power of the image to explain and inspire

This article featured in Illuminate Newsletter Winter ‘22

Introduction

When Sabrina Lewis started her PhD at WEHI she realised that her high school inspiration had come from WEHI itself.

In biology class she had watched an animation by Dr Drew Berry, WEHI’s biomedical animations manager.

“I remember watching the animations and I immediately found learning the process of DNA replication so much easier to visualise and understand,” she said.

Though Lewis doesn’t work directly with Berry now, her work in the imaging lab complements WEHI’s broader focus on visualising biological processes at a microscopic level to aid medical breakthroughs.

Visual force

In her PhD, Lewis uses powerful microscopes to take high-resolution images of breast cancer cells.

“Our hope is that understanding how the cancer cells behave and what genes they are expressing might reveal novel therapeutics,” she said.

Lewis keenly understands the power of images to both explain and inspire.

“Looking at microscopic images complements numerical data and helps me further explore experimental findings,” she said.

“Images and videos have a more immediate impact for general audiences.”

Sabrina Lewis

When she takes a breather from staring down a microscope, Lewis is enthused by the collaborative energy at WEHI.

“I love that I’ve had the opportunity to not only become an independent scientist, but also get involved with student activities and the wider WEHI community – there are so many opportunities here.”