Stem Cell Reports_cover
Cover for Stem Cell Reports Scientific Journal.
Volume 19. March 2024
Short description
Cover illustration for Stem Cell Reports (Vol. 19, No. 3, March 2024), commissioned by UC San Francisco to visualize a groundbreaking museum exhibit that lets visitors synchronize their own heartbeat with stem cell-derived heart cells. Selected for cover by the Cell Press editorial team.
The Publication
Stem Cell Reports is the official journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), published by CellPress. It covers the full breadth of stem cell science, from basic research to translational medicine. The March 2024 issue featured a study by scientists from UC San Francisco and the Exploratorium, San Francisco’s celebrated interactive science museum.
The Research
The study reports on an immersive public exhibit that does something remarkable: by touching a handlebar, a museum visitor can synchronize the beating of stem cell-derived heart cells to their own heartbeat. The research sits at the intersection of cutting-edge cell biology and public science engagement—making one of the most complex frontiers in medicine tangible and personal to a general audience.
The Concept
The illustration captures the moment of connection between a human being and the cellular world. A lone silhouette stands on a rocky outcrop — small, grounded, and human — looking up at a cluster of luminous stem cell-derived heart cells that float above like a constellation. The background shifts from the warm, textured tones of living cardiac tissue at the top to the deep blue of an open sky below, creating a sense of vast scale and wonder.
The composition mirrors the experience of the exhibit itself: the visitor touching the handlebar and suddenly feeling connected to something immeasurably small yet alive. The cells—rendered with detail and translucency—emerge from the background as if materializing into the visitor’s awareness, bridging the microscopic and the human in a single image.
The image was selected for the cover by the Cell Press editorial team—recognition that it succeeded in translating a complex scientific and emotional story into a single, arresting visual.
ServicesCover illustrationClientUC San FranciscoYear2024
