Medical Illustration Podcast - RIT program faculty interview

In this episode of the Medical Illustration Podcast I’m speaking with the faculty of the medical illustration program at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester New York will be the location of the 2024 annual conference of the Association of Medical Illustrators, taking place from July 25th to the 27th, so I thought it would make for a nice primer to the meeting to chat a little bit with our upcoming hosts!

In this group interview of the Medical Illustration Podcast, we get a bit of history on the origins of the RIT program and how the faculty went through the accreditation process to bring that up to a Masters of Fine Arts program. They share some observations from teaching several generations of students, some of the benefits students glean from the program, keeping pace with evolving science and technology, time management, and more. Please enjoy this conversation with Glen Hintz, Jim Perkins, and Craig Foster.

BIOS

Craig Foster (MSMI, CMI, FAMI) is an experienced medical illustrator and animator who

has produced award-winning visuals for Time Life Medical, major pharmaceutical

corporations, medical device manufacturers and biotechnology companies. He has

been a member of the Association of Medical Illustrators since 1991 and is a Certified

Medical Illustrator. Craig has a fine arts degree from the University of Michigan and a

graduate degree in medical illustration from the Medical College of Georgia (now

Augusta University).

Craig has operated a successful medical communications studio since 1996. His work

has appeared on the covers of U.S. Pharmacist, Sports Illustrated and Molecular

Therapy. He has also produced artwork for the American Museum of Natural History,

Natural History magazine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Axcan, Genentech,

PTC Therapeutics and Time Health.

In addition to maintaining his medical visualization company, Craig is also an assistant

professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he teaches courses in

Surgical Illustration, Scientific Animation, and Interactive Media. You can view Craig's Portfolio here.

Glen Hintz (MS, CMI) is Program Director for the Undergraduate Medical Illustration program in the School of Art, College of Art and Design at Rochester Institute of Technology. Glen earned his AB in Biology from Lafayette College and MS in Medical Illustration from the The Medical College of Georgia.

Jim Perkins (MFA, ABD, CMI) is Director of the Graduate Program in Medical Illustration in the College of Health Sciences and Technology at Rochester Institute of Technology. Jim earned his BA in Biology and Geology from Cornell University and studied Paleontology and Anatomy at the University of Texas, Austin, and the University of Rochester. He earned the MFA in Medical Illustration from Rochester Institute of Technology in1992.

Jim has worked for Design Pointe Communications and Nucleus Medical Media, both of Atlanta, Georgia and joined the RIT faculty in 1998. While at RIT, he also served as Adjunct Clinical Instructor in Anatomy for the Ithaca College School of Health Sciences and Human Performance. Jim maintains an active illustration business, illustrating medical textbooks, journal articles, medical legal exhibits, and visuals for clients in the pharmaceutical and medical device markets. You can view Jim's Portfolio here.

LINKS

• RIT program 

• AMI

• AAA

• CAAHEP

• 3Dslicer

• Horos

• AAA meeting

• Upcoming AMI meeting site

Images © Glen Hintz, Jim Perkins & Craig Foster