Molecular neuroscience processes

I had the pleasure to work with a researcher from Università degli Studi di Udine to create the figures for their publication in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. The paper, titled Is Drp1 a link between mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease?, examines the role of inflammation in Alzheimer's disease. 

The first figure provides a visual overview of how a multi-protein complex called the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated in two steps. The second figure illustrates how a protein called Drp1 contributes to the assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome. 

I was tasked with transforming the researcher's hand-drawn sketches into clear and engaging figures. The challenge was to bring these sketches to life while accurately representing the complex biological processes described in the paper. I organized the information as clearly as possible, using visual cues to emphasize different parts of the processes. By employing a carefully selected color palette, I ensured that the different elements in the figures were easily distinguishable while maintaining visual cohesion and avoiding overwhelming the viewer with too many colors.