Arcadia Science
Arcadia Science is a newly-formed research institute in Berkeley CA that was co-founded by scientists from Dartmouth and UCSF. Arcadia aims to produce rigorously peer-reviewed and cutting edge science research independent of the existing academic model, which relies heavily on for-profit science journals that restrict access to new findings.
I have been working with scientists at Arcadia to create the graphics for a new research project, “Ticks as treasure troves: Molecular discovery in new organisms”. This project, along with accompanying research publications, “Performing mass spectrometry-based proteomics in organisms with minimal reference protein databases” and “Robust long-read saliva transcriptome and proteome from the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum” mark the launch of Arcadia’s new innovative research publishing platform. In these publications, my clients release their preliminary findings and set the stage for broader aims and potential impacts of their research project.
As a foundation for further studies, this work focuses heavily on the development of new genome, transcriptome, and proteomic resources for the lone star tick, A. americanum. A primary aim of these graphics is to illustrate the importance of these new technologies. An hourglass motif was used as an overarching visual framework for their workflow, and reoccurs throughout multiple figures. Accompanying data visualizations compare these new genomic resources to existing ones.
The life cycle of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum. Throughout its like, the tick searches out three different animal hosts, during what is known as a ‘questing’ phase. Once attached, the tick feeds upon the host’s blood for 1-2 weeks. In order to remain undetected for so long, the tick relies on a unique cocktail of proteins in its saliva, which are injected into the wound cavity as it feeds.These proteins prevent the host’s blood from clotting and suppresses any host immune reaction. Despite these important properties, little is known about which components of the tick’s saliva allow it to evade detection, or how these proteins function in the host’s body.
Original sketch for life cycle figure and alternative stylistic option
Schematic workflow of research methodology, justifying the necessity of a good genome and transcriptome for down- stream proteomic analyses.
Schematic workflow of genomic analyses, compared to existing resources available in the literature.
