University of California
Who did David Goodsell work for from 1992 to 1994?
David Goodsell David S . Goodsell , is an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute and research professor at Rutgers University , New Jersey ( joint appointment ) . He is especially known for his watercolor paintings of cell interiors . Education . David Goodsell studied a BSc in biology and chemistry at University of California Irvine . After this , he did a PhD in X-ray crystallography of DNA at the University of California Los Angeles , completed in 1987 . Research . Since completing his PhD he as worked as a structural biologist at the Scripps Research Institute ( with a 2-year period in University of California in 1992-94 ) . His research topics have included the use of structural biology and molecular dynamic simulations to investigate symmetry in protein oligomers , protein-protein interactions and for computer-aided drug design . In particular he is a developer of AutoDock , the most widely-used program used for molecular docking . His main research focus areas are HIV drug resistance and structure and function of bacterial cells . Illustration . Goodsell has developed a signature style of scientific drawing . He started painting early in his childhood but did not study art in college . In graduate school , Goodsell became interested in scientific illustration while writing molecular graphics programs to visualize protein and DNA structures . Goodsells signature style uses generally very flat shading , with strong and simple colour-schemes . As is typical in medical illustration , the images are simplified representations of the subject that still retain accuracy of the important features . His illustrations fall broadly into two categories : individual proteins , and cellular panoramas . His images of individual proteins are typically computer generated , cell-shaded space-filling representations of proteins , often with cut-aways to show internal binding sites and cofactors . Conversely , his illustration of cell interiors ( sometimes called molecular landscapes ) are hand-painted in watercolours . They are typically slices through a cell with highly simplified protein structures in a flat style in order to capture overall organisation without overwhelming detail . These cell interiors are often displayed at an effective 1,000,000x magnification for consistency . The paintings therefore share a consistent style , aiming to make interpretation easy and as intuitive as possible . His illustrations are published in the Molecule of the Month series by the Protein Data Bank , an archive of protein structures . His illustrations are used as teaching tools , in textbooks , in scientific publications , and as journal cover art . Process . For individual proteins , Goodsells illustrations are directly generated from solved protein structures deposited in the PDB using custom computer renderings that he wrote in Fortran ( now released as an online illustration tool ) . Representations of large macromolecular complexes or crowded cellular environments require interpretation and synthesis of multiple different types of scientific imaging . These include X-ray crystallography and NMR for protein components , cryo electron tomography for larger complexes , and super-res light microscopy and electron microscopy for the cellular environment . In these cases , the focus in on portraying the relative scales , orientations and interactions between the components . In order to portray an accurate degree of crowding background gaps are filled with approximate sized generic proteins so that artistic license used to increase the accuracy of the overall representation . Bibliography . In addition to scientific papers , Goodsell is the author of several scientific books with a focus on illustration : - Atomic Evidence : Seeing the Molecular Basis of Life ( Springer International , 2016 ) - Bionanotechnology : Lessons from Nature ( J . Wiley and Sons , 2004 ) - Our Molecular Nature : The Bodys Motors , Machines , and Messages ( Springer-Verlag , 1996 ) - The Machinery of Life ( Springer-Verlag , 1993 ) . External links . - Molecule of the Month - MotM Illustrator webtool