SciArt profile: Leonora Martínez Nuñez

Leonora Martínez Nuñez has a background in microbiology and fungal cell biology. She is now a scientific visualization specialist at UMass Chan Medical School. Find out more about Leonora’s artistic influences and her path to a career in scientific illustration.

Can you tell us about your background and what you work on now?
I grew up in Mexico, where I studied Biology and later obtained a PhD in Microbiology. I immigrated to the U.S. in 2017 to train as a postdoctoral researcher studying membrane trafficking and exocytosis in different organisms. However, I’ve always been an artist at heart. In 2020, I decided to pursue a career in Scientific Illustration and started carving a path for myself in the field. I don’t have formal training as an artist, and I learned new skills through tutorials and workshops. In 2023, I left the bench and started working full-time in science communication and outreach, where I had the chance to do creative work as a scientific visualization specialist in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology Department at UMass Chan Medical School.

Were you always going to be a scientist?
Officially, yes. Growing up, I was interested in viruses, insects, and chemistry. I remember myself, as a kid, telling people I wanted to be a chemist or biologist and find the cure for HIV. I laugh about that nowadays because I didn’t go into virology or immunology; instead, I studied fungi for several years of my training.

And what about art – have you always enjoyed it?
I was always pursuing some artistic or creative endeavors on the side, like contemporary dance, folkloric dance, theater, clay modeling and sculpture, building scale wood boats, painting, or drawing. My hometown, Xalapa in México, is such a cultural hub that it was impossible not to be drawn to these activities.

What or who are your most important artistic influences?
I’d say that my favorite artists are Remedios Varo and Leonora Carrington. I want to portray such magic in my work, but that is a work in progress. In my current style, I think I was significantly influenced by Dr. Verena Resch (Luminous Lab) since I learned a lot from her tutorials. I also admire the work of Olena Shmahalo (Nature in theory). I want to add that Dr. Matteo Farinella significantly influenced me and encouraged me to pursue science illustration as a career.

How do you make your art?
I use a computer and a free program for 3D modeling called Blender. I use a lot of Molecular Nodes (a tool fro Blender created by Dr. Brady Johnston). I mix it up with basic programs for vector and pixel-based design. I extensively use the 3D coordinates deposited in the Protein Data Base (PDB) and chemical formulas in ChemSpider and Chempub. I like to doodle ideas with pen and paper, which I then translate onto the 3D space. So far, I’m mostly doing 3D images (ultimately 2D with 3D elements), short animations, and vector graphics. My first step is always to read the science and do my research. I want to be as scientifically accurate as possible. I read a lot about different fields, and the best part is that I’m learning so much from this job.

Does your art influence your science at all, or are they separate worlds?
While working at a research bench, my art helped me understand my science better. The extensive research done to translate it into a visual with the most accuracy possible makes you question everything. It also helped me present my science in a better light. My whole world is a mix of science and art, so I’d say that science influenced my art and vice versa.

What are you thinking of working on next?
I have many projects in the works, but I want to focus mainly on helping other scientists tell their stories visually. I’m part of a research core at UMass Chan, where I manage the Science Visualization Services, so I can help researchers translate their scientific discoveries into striking visuals. We are open for commissions! Additionally, I want to put more of my energy into community outreach. I want to encourage younger audiences to think about science and art as converging worlds, so I’ll also be working on that.

Find out more about Leonora:

Website: www.leonoramartinez.com
Instagram: radiant_molecules
X: @leonoramtzn
Mastodon: @leonoramtzn@mstdn.social

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading...