What If Scientific Figures Came First?
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Here at BioRender we're always excited to talk with researchers about their groundbreaking work, the illustrations that help them ask big questions, and what excites them about the future of scientific research.
This week we asked Dr. Chi Van Dang, CEO & Scientific Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Cancer Medicine at Johns Hopkins, to share how illustration aids his research. Surprisingly, BioRender isn’t just the final destination in Dr. Dang’s workflow. It’s also a tool he uses along the way to help crystallize his understanding of an evolving landscape.
About Dr. Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD: I am a physician and scientist studying the tumor microenvironment, specifically researching the Myc oncogene’s role in metabolic reprogramming and nutrient dependencies driving cancer proliferation.
My next BioRender illustration: I would love to map out the different trajectories an evolving solid tumor can take within the constraints between different cells in the tumor microenvironment. This could help us understand resistance mechanisms to specific types of therapy, where today only a minority of patients benefit from immunotherapy.
Layering complexity through science illustration
Early mornings for me are the best time for undisturbed thinking, free of distraction. That’s when I like to jump into BioRender and map out something new I’ve learned. I begin with a freshly brewed double espresso and a question: How does this process work?
Let’s take the tumor microenvironment, for instance. What cells are there? How do they interact? I start to lay it out, layer by layer.
Perhaps, like many scientists, this instinct to visualize my work grew from my training. As an undergrad in organic chemistry, it was about seeing bonds and structures. It’s inherently visual— you move pieces around, see reactions unfold. Then in medical school it was anatomy, memorizing the paths of nerves, vessels, and winding organs. As I learned, the illustrations grew more complex into dynamic, interconnected systems. Drawing it out helped me understand that complexity.
Illustrations reveal Dr. Dang’s next big research question
That’s how I use illustration today— to test my own understanding.
Recently, I was exploring how wound healing may relate to tumor formation (tumors are often described as "a wound that never heals"). After poring over the literature and picking out key findings, I opened BioRender to draft it out on the page. As I positioned each element and drew each connection, I got stuck. A detail was unclear, a mechanism was missing. I went back to my readings to look for answers but discovered that these weren't simply holes in my knowledge—they were active areas of scientific debate.
Those are the gaps I want to fill. That’s where I’ll design my next key experiments.
An example of this literature illustration exercise is shown above. This figure is a high level summary of the types of macrophages that play a role in wound healing versus in tumorigenesis. Clearly this is oversimplified, but the challenge of this visual simplification is precisely what makes it valuable. The ability to do so successfully means, for me, that one understands something deeply.
Landing the next research grant
I encourage my trainees to do the same when they’re designing their experiments, preparing their next presentation, or writing a paper. Illustrating is a test of their own understanding, to squeeze out all the words and let a picture tell the story. It’s also the best way to keep your audience from getting lost. For a presentation, a simple and clean figure will hold an audience and generate more challenging and fruitful discussion.
While reviewing grants, I get frustrated when I’m lost to a wall of dense text. It’s a stark contrast when, from a polished graphical abstract, I can grasp the essence of the proposal in a single glance. With today’s funding uncertainty, I think clear figures can make a big difference between a reviewer grasping or losing your thread of thought.
How Dr. Dang sees the future of science illustration
Presentations, papers, grant applications— it’s easy to see these as the final purpose for science visuals. But I actually feel that in focusing on these, we miss the power of that quiet morning illustrative process.
Looking through my template gallery on BioRender I’m confronted with the sheer number of drafts my illustrations have gone through. V1, V2, V3… evolving versions as my understanding deepens: small tweaks, new arrows pointing to new cell types. Science is never static, and neither are figures.
Right now these evolving figures sit in my personal gallery. But what if BioRender were a platform where scientists log on to share their research? A platform where one could comment on a figure or make a suggested edit while citing an exciting new finding. BioRender could be this collaborative space where scientists work together to close those gaps in understanding, in live-time as the science evolves. This dialogue is happening through written word in journals— why not through illustration?
Interested to learn more about Dr. Dang’s work? Take a look at his BioRender Profile!
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