Natalie Doolittle, director of medical animation at High Impact, Inc., will visit Louisiana Tech University on March 27 for a presentation titled, “Biomedical Visualization: Art Influencing Science and Medicine,” as part of the New Frontiers in Biomedical Research lecture series. Doolittle’s lecture will take place at 3:30 p.m. in University Hall on the Louisiana Tech campus.  The event is free and members of the campus and local communities are cordially invited to attend. As a medical illustrator, animator and art director, Doolittle specializes in creating engaging visuals to communicate scientific content with clarity.  She earned her master’s degree in biomedical visualization from University of Illinois at Chicago in 2013, and went on to become a medical animator for a genetics research lab at the Centre for Molecular Medicines and Therapeutics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Doolittle currently leads a team of 3-D artists as the director of medical animation at High Impact, where she manages the content and production of animations and 3-D illustrations for litigation, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. “Ms. Doolittle’s medical illustrations and animations are masterfully crafted,” said Nick Bustamante, associate professor of art in Louisiana Tech’s School of Design.  “Her work beautifully brings scientific concepts and medical research to life.  This will be a great opportunity for our students to meet a top professional in the field of medical illustration and animation.” In addition to her role at High Impact, Doolittle also serves as a member of the external advisory board for VISTA (Visual Integration of Science Through Art) at Louisiana Tech and its developing concentration in pre-medical illustration that will be offered to students in biology, biomedical engineering, and art beginning in fall 2017.  Her visit is being hosted in partnership with Louisiana Tech’s School of Design and Bustamante, and is supported through the Medical Illustration Foundation at Louisiana Tech with funds raised through the Digital Art Exhibit and Auction. As an interdisciplinary lecture series that focuses on advancements in the fields of biomedical engineering, biology, physics and chemistry, the New Frontiers in Biomedical Research seminar program strives to promote an understanding of human health and disease by interacting with leaders in these research fields.  The series also seeks to expose students to growing areas of research and to enhance Louisiana Tech’s own impacts in biomedical research. This year, the New Frontiers in Biomedical Research series expands into a critical area beyond the research bench to explore related career paths and the responsibility of research and education. Developed by Dr. Jamie Newman, assistant professor in Louisiana Tech’s School of Biological Sciences, and jointly organized by Dr. Mary Caldorera-Moore, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, the New Frontiers in Biomedical Research series has brought many internationally known research leaders to Louisiana Tech and is now in its fourth year. For more information on the New Frontiers in Biomedical Research series and access to recordings of all of the lectures, please visit our website: http://biomedicalresearch.wixsite.com/new-frontiers or contact Dr. Jamie Newman at jjnewman@latech.edu or Dr. Mary Caldorera-Moore at mcmoore@latech.edu.