LEXINGTON, Ky., July 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) is proud to announce the recognition of its ten Diversity Fellows at the 78th Annual Conference, to be held from July 24 - 27, 2024, in Rochester, New York. The AMI Diversity Fellowship is part of Johnson & Johnson's Illustrate Change Initiative and will seed the creation of a new digital library to expand the depiction of racial and ethnic diversity in medical illustrations.

The illustrators represent seven countries worldwide and were selected out of a pool of 80 applicants.  

Diversity Fellows are: 

Ezgi Sena Bozoğullarından           
Hatay, Antakya 
Türkiye 

Sami Brussels      
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  
United States 

Ni-ka Ford, CMI              
Atlanta, Georgia 
United States 

Tiffany Fung, MA            
Marseilles, Bouches-du-Rhône 
France 

Lucia Fernanda Garces Torres   
Jerico, Antioquia 
Colombia 

Sarah Gluschitz, CMI     
St. Georges, Grenada 
West Indies 

Morium Howlader, MBBS MRCGP         
Newcastle Upon Tyne,  
Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom 

Sana Khan, HBSC, MScBMC     
Uxbridge, Ontario 
Canada 

Lilith Lawrence             
Toronto, Ontario 
Canada 

Tal Bavli Ziv
North York, Ontario
Canada

The Diversity Fellows have worked diligently over the past year to create illustrations that visually represent racial diversity in patients with various health conditions. Three batches of these illustrations, focused on cardiology, oncology, and dermatology, are now live on www.illustratechange.com, with the remaining batches set to be completed by the end of August 2024.

"The AMI Diversity Fellowship, part of Johnson & Johnson's Illustrate Change initiative, aims to improve representation in medical illustration and address enduring racial biases in medicine," said Jill K. Gregory, Chair of the AMI Diversity Fellowship Advisory Council. "Medical illustrators play a critical role in 'making known' those who have been overlooked or marginalized in healthcare, and we are grateful to Johnson & Johnson for funding this initiative. The AMI is honored to be a partner in advancing diversity in medical illustration so that educators, healthcare professionals, and illustrators themselves have the training and tools they need to advance this important work."

The Diversity Fellows will be honored at the Awards Celebration during the conference, recognizing their contributions to advancing diversity in medical illustration. They will also be celebrated at a special reception including the AMI Board of Governors and other association leaders. Furthermore, the Diversity Fellows will have the opportunity to share their work directly with attendees through a plenary session where they will highlight their creations and reflect on the importance of diversifying illustrations.

The AMI Annual Conference is renowned for its exceptional educational programs, networking opportunities, and cutting-edge presentations in the field of medical illustration. This premier event promises to be an exceptional gathering of medical illustrators, artists, educators, and professionals from across the globe.

For more information about the AMI Annual Conference and the Diversity Fellowship, please visit the AMI website at www.ami.org.

About AMI

The Association of Medical Illustrators is a global community promoting the power of visual media to advance scientific understanding, communication, education, and research. For more than 75 years, the AMI has been bringing together biomedical visual communicators through career growth opportunities, professional development, and credibility by providing a diverse community of like-minded creative experts, educational resources, support for certification, and space for exchange of information and ideas. Since its founding in 1945, the AMI has sought new and better ways to clearly communicate the beauty and complexities of science.

To learn more about the AMI, visit https://ami.org/.

Jennifer Duckworth
Executive Director
1-866-393-4264
jduckworth@amrms.com

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SOURCE Association of Medical Illustrators