Keynote Speaker

Sonya Amin is a founding principal at AXS Studio, a life science visualization company built around a specialized, multidisciplinary team. AXS collaborates with clients in pharma & biotech, TV & Film, and education. With every project – be it an interactive experience, a 3D animation, or a didactic illustration – the AXS team seeks to bring credibility, clarity, and delight to science visualization. https://axs3d.com/

Sonya is an alumna of the University of Toronto (MSc BMC 0T3; BSc Hon 9T9). She lives in Toronto with her husband, two kids, and two cats.

Panelists

Jodie Jenkinson is a Professor and Director of Biomedical Communications (www.bmc.med.utoronto.ca) at the University of Toronto and Principle Investigator of the Science Visualization Lab (www.sciencevis.ca). Her research focuses on the role that visual representations play in learning. This includes investigation along various lines of inquiry including the efficacy of visual media within different learning contexts, the design of visual representations for optimal impact, and the development of standards of visual communication in the scientific visualization community.

Allison Crawford, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She is the Chief Medical Officer of 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline. She is also a psychiatrist and Clinician Scientist at CAMH, where she is Director of Virtual Mental Health. Allison has a PhD in English and is Founding Director of HeART Lab (www.healthequityART.ca), which explores the use of art, research, and technology for community engagement in health.

Heather Brown is a professional Art Therapist and a Registered Psychotherapist (qualifying) who has been weaving an art practice into her work alongside patients and their families for the last 8 years. Heather is the Lead Therapist for Hospice Georgian Triangle (Collingwood, ON) and Wish Manager for The Living Wish Foundation (South Georgian Bay, ON). Heather has found her place in healthcare at the bedside of palliative patients and provides support to these individuals and their grieving loved ones as caregivers and through to bereavement. Heather uses art to deepen understanding of the self, our conditions, and our felt place in the world, create choice for patients and clients and create legacy and connection.