Visualizing the Coronavirus Veronica Falconieri Hays is one of many medical illustrators helping to depict the virus.

Like most certified medical illustrators, Veronica Falconieri Hays has been really busy lately, working with colleagues in the Association of Medical Illustrators to research and visualize aspects of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) for health professionals and the public. Illustrations of the virus most often look a lot like a ball with red spikes sticking out of it. And that’s an accurate depiction because this particular virus features what’s known as spike proteins, which essentially hook themselves onto host cells in the respiratory system, enabling the virus to break in and hijack the cell’s molecular machinery.

Falconieri Hays, principal of Falconieri Visuals a scientific and medical illustration and animation studio in Maryland, uses Cinema 4D to visualize microscopic and nanoscale stories for clients in research, biotech and pharma. Watch the presentation she gave at Maxon’s virtual 2020 NAB Show to see her approach to cellular and molecular visualization using C4D.

Often called upon to answer questions and do research to help other other medical illustrators, Falconieri Hays has just finished work on her own illustration of the spike proteins on the outside of the virus to help make clear how the virus attaches and infects. The spike, she explains, has a few differences between this virus and other SARS-related viruses, which may help explain its spread.

“I tried to answer all of the questions that a medical illustrator would have if they wanted to animate the spike attaching to a host cell and mediating cell fusion,” she says, adding that there are definitely some knowledge gaps surrounding the virus, and she found this to be a good way to organize a lot of what is currently known.

Since sharing her illustration on Twitter, Falconieri Hays has received a lot of positive feedback from colleagues and scientists, including a few personal messages. “There were even a few scientists who messaged me to let me know it was helpful, which was very satisfying,” she says.

Understanding the spike protein’s role is vital because it is a potential target of a future vaccine Falconieri Hays explains: “A vaccine could be designed to stimulate our bodies to create antibodies that would attach to the spike because that is the big protein exposed on the surface of the virus.”

Watch the recording of Falconieri Hays‘ NAB 2020 presentation on our YouTube channel.