Portfolio
Binding of cytochrome c to Apaf-1 and recruitment of caspase-9 to the apoptosome.
Created for the National Museum of Health + Medicine Chicago.
An editorial drawing of sea turtle fetus. Intended audiences are children, to raise awareness of sea turtle nesting area conservation.
Illustration of the mechanism of DNA binding by Cas9. The significance of this is that by understanding how binding activates Cas9, this could provide a framework for improved genome editing.
Editorial illustration to accompany a research paper accepted by Nature. The topic was on how the researchers mapped and identified super enhancer associated genes in ependymoma which tumor cells depended on. These enhancer regions revealed possible oncogenes, molecular targets.
About
Grace Hsu has a strong background in biochemistry and biotechnology to support her professional career as a biomedical visualization specialist. From her graduate studies and research, she has learned the vital role visualization has in communication and knowledge transfer to advance science and medicine.
Grace's interests lie primarily in medical & patient education, storyboarding/concept art, and data visualization. From designing effective and engaging user interfaces for patients to communicating cutting-edge discoveries to potential investors and pharmaceutical executives, she enjoys translating complex scientific information into something understandable and engaging for the target audience.
Click to see my CV:
Research
customized mobile application for oncology patients
Title: Designing customized mobile application for patient adherence to oral anticancer medication utilizing user-centered design
Tools: InDesign, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere
Audience: Oncology patients being prescribed oral anticancer medication for the first time
Committee: Andrew Boyd, MD, Stephanie Y. Crawford, PhD, and Donna Hughes, MS
Format: Application for Android 10" tablets
Funding:
Location of images and animations supporting patient compliance in mobile application design.
These are black and white pages without any graphic design elements. They provide the functionality information on each page. They show what interactivity, navigation buttons, images or videos, and text boxes would be included in the modules.
Educational animations on oral anti-cancer drugs that patients would see.
Location of images and animations supporting patient compliance in mobile application design.
Background & Significance:
Oral anticancer medications (OAMs), a convenient form of oncology therapy, place greater responsibility on patient self-care at home. Adherence is a significant challenge for many patients in this treatment paradigm and estimates run as low as 16%-60%. Adherence to OAMs positively correlates with clinical outcomes. These complex OAM regimens can be confusing and non-adherence can lead to accelerated disease progression, especially in low literacy patients.
Clinical researchers continue to look at the use of eHealth applications for patient education and treatment compliance. This research builds upon eHealth technology to create an interactive tool supporting OAM compliance and accommodating multiple learning styles. Pictures and animations have been shown to help patients retain complex medical instructions and were utilized to communicate complex medical information. User-Centered Design was implemented by consulting patients at an early stage of development to ensure this tool is customized for their engagement.
This research addressed an underserved population, creating a customized, patient-centered mobile application designed to empower patients to manage their OAMs effectively and become active team members of the treatment team. This research seeks to improve the quality of clinical care by helping to facilitate better patient-clinician communications. This project demonstrated how as biomedical visualization specialists, we may not be front-line clinicians helping the patients, however, we do have the ability to improve clinical care and patient outcomes.
Future directions:
The application is coded to be deployed on Android tablets. The application is designed to be hosted on Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA)-compliant servers allowing tablets to access the patient’s electronic health record and generate personalized content. Phase II trial will be conducted at UIH Oncology Center to evaluate this education tool and how it will contribute to patient's adherence to their oral anticancer medication.
