News Release
New Web App to help demystify why Covid mutations have the effects they do
Why is the Delta variant so virulent ? Why did it surpass the Beta variant so quickly? An innovation by a GSA-University of Glasgow Masters graduate is set to help the public understand why certain variants dominate and have the impact they do.
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| Image: Sarah Iannucci’s visualisation of the Spike Protein (pink) of SARS-CoV-2 as it binds to the ACE2 protein (green) on cells in the human body, “like a key fitting into a lock” thus providing a gateway in for the virus and to enter and cause infection |
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has focussed everyone’s attention on the hidden world of viruses. The emergence of new variants such as Beta and Delta, affects us all: some variants spread more quickly and some are less affected by vaccines. But why?
Teams of scientists around the world, including the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium, are tracking the emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, but to understand why the mutations they report have the effects they do requires an expert understanding of the details of how SARS-CoV-2 functions, something which the majority of us do not have. For most of us, the reason these mutations will affect us is hard to visualise.
In response to this Sarah Iannucci, an MSc in Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy at The Glasgow School of Art (School of Simulation and Visualisation) and University of Glasgow (School of Life Sciences), set out to explain the hidden workings of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, particularly those on the viral spike protein.
Sarah built the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation Explorer, an interactive web application using illustration, animation and interactive 3D models to explain why SARS-CoV-2 mutations have the effects they do, with users able to view and interact with visualisations of variants of concern and their characteristic mutations. The work was unveiled today, 9 September 2021, as part of The Glasgow School of Art’s Postgraduate Showcase.
The SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation Explorer was developed in collaboration with COG-UK, and with it Sarah aims to provide the context needed for non-experts such as the media to understand the technical reports on SARS-CoV-2 variants presented in the COG-UK website and then share them with the wider public.
“For me biomedical illustration is about visually impactful and educational storytelling, aiming to take complex scientific topics and implement engaging, clear visualisations in order to facilitate the audience’s understanding,”says Sarah.
“The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is responsible for viral infectivity and transmissibility, is mutating rapidly and with it, Variants of Concern (VOCs) are emerging. There is a pressing public need to understand these topics, as they have direct relevance to control measures, restrictions to daily life, and to illness.”
“I’m delighted that the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation Explorer will be made available through the website of the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research and I hope that as well as enabling experts to explain more about the many variants of the virus, it will also make it easier for the broader public to learn more about why specific mutations become Variants of Concern and understand why particular measures are needed to combat them.”
Dr Ed Hutchinson, a senior lecturer at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, supervised the virology aspects of Sarah’s project.
“I first came across Sarah’s work when I saw ‘Deactivation,’ a detailed painting she had created showing how detergents destroy SARS-CoV-2, which she kindly let me use when teaching this topic to final year students at the University of Glasgow,” he explains. “Shortly afterwards she began her MSc, I delighted to have the chance to work with her as she developed her ‘SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation Explorer’ app. Sarah has a real skill for using visual art to explain the complex world of molecular biology. She has used this to help people understand cutting-edge research that is being done on the most urgent scientific questions of our time – how SARS-CoV-2 is changing, and what this means for all of us.”
Dr Daniel Livingstone, Reader in Games and Learning Technology at The Glasgow School of Art, leads Postgraduate Programmes at the School of Simulation and Visualisation.
“I am thrilled that yet another of our Medical Visualisation & Human Anatomy students has produced work that is going to have real public impact, a testament to the continuing strength of our continued collaboration with the University of Glasgow
“Sarah’s work is a fantastic example of how technical, scientific and creative skills work together in the Medical Visualisation discipline to produce work that is not just visually engaging but also informative.
It is great that her work is going be form a key part of the efforts to explain the continuing SARS-CoV-2 story to the public.”
Ends
For further information on the School of Simulation and Visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art contact: Lesley Booth, 0779 941 4474 / press@gsa.ac.uk
For further information on the School of Life Sciences at The University of Glasgow contact:
Elizabeth McMeekin Elizabeth.McMeekin@glasgow.ac.uk/ Ali Howard Ali.Howard@glasgow.ac.uk
Notes for Editors
Sarah Iannucci is an interdisciplinary Biomedical Illustrator with interests in illustration, 3D modeling & animation, segmentation, and interaction design. Critical and design thinking and problem-solving are at the forefront of her daily work.
Sarah graduated from The University of Scranton with a BSc in Biology in 2018. She has just completed an MSc in Medical Visualisation & Human Anatomy at The Glasgow School of Art-Glasgow University.
She is currently working as a Medical Visualisation Engineer for Axial3D, the global leader in medical 3D printing.
MSc in. Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy at the GSA – University of Glasgow
Accredited by the Institute of Medical Illustrators, the MSc in Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy is a one-year taught postgraduate programme offered by the School of Simulation and Visualisation (SimVis) at The Glasgow School of Art in collaboration with the Anatomy department in the School of Life Sciences, University of Glasgow.
The course presents a unique opportunity to combine actual cadaveric dissection with 3D digital reconstruction, interaction, visualisation and medical illustration using state of the art virtual reality facilities. It allows students to examine human anatomy, and to reconstruct it in a real-time 3D environment for use in education, simulation, and training. This Masters programme provides an ideal opportunity for enhancement of research into human anatomy, diagnostics, simulation, and visualisation.
The School of Simulation and Visualisation at the GSA
The School of Simulation and Visualisation is an undergraduate and postgraduate research and commercial centre of The Glasgow School of Art. Its intense learning and research environment exploits the interface between science, technology and the arts to explore imaginative and novel uses of advanced 3D digital visualisation and interaction technologies.
It offers undergraduate degrees in Immersive Systems Design (Games and Virtual Reality and 3D Modelling pathways) and Sound for the Moving Image. Postgraduate programmes are offered in Serious Games and Virtual Reality, Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy, Heritage Visualisation and Sound for the Moving Image
The CVR
The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) is home to an internationally leading critical mass of virologists, entirely focused on the study of human viral diseases and viruses at the human-animal interface. Established in 2010 as a partnership between the University and the Medical Research Council (MRC), the CVR contributes to national virology capability and supports the global response to viruses and the diseases they cause.