Biomedical Art and Visualization BFA Student Spotlight

We are very proud of our BMAV BFA Students and find it important to showcase their work and achievements. We will feature students throughout the year, who have demonstrated excellent academic and portfolio based sucess. Please visit our main page for more information on our BMAV BFA Program!

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:

Karlee D. Rogers, Class of 2019 (click here to visit her website)

Recent recipient of the 2020 Ann B. Ward Medallion for Visual and Performing Arts Excellence 

Who is Karlee?
As a first year medical doctorate student at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU), Karlee Rogers enrolled in a figure drawing elective course taught by Rowan’s Biomedical Art and Visualization (BMAV) program coordinator and professor, Amanda Almon. Karlee was always enthused by the opportunity to practice artistic creativity, especially when developing her anatomy study notes, so when she was introduced to this field she began to dream of having a career in biomedical art. Although she truly enjoyed her two years in medical school, she decided to reroute her career path and return to Rowan’s main campus to explore her newfound artistic dream. While studying to become a medical doctor, Karlee had developed efficient time management skills and an aptitude for learning a great amount of content in a short period of time. These practices, when utilized in the BMAV program, resulted in a diverse collection of highly-detailed, well-researched artworks in various media such as carbon dust, colored pencil, sculpture, digital painting, 3D illustration, animation, and even virtual reality. 

In February of 2019, halfway through the BMAV program, Karlee lost her biggest supporter and best friend, her sister, Kelsea. This was Karlee’s greatest challenge yet, but with incredible support from family, friends, and Rowan professors, she was able to continue her coursework and complete the BMAV program superlatively. Though the sharp pain of loss lingers still, Karlee strives to make her sister proud by relentlessly utilizing her talent and positive energy to make a difference with her artwork. As an intern at the NeuroMusculoskeletal Institute (NMI) of Rowan Medicine in the Fall of 2019, she contributed to the design and development of continued education courses on opioid addiction reduction for healthcare professionals in an effort to combat the opioid epidemic.

During Karlee’s two years in the BMAV program she was commissioned to complete a 3ft. by 2ft. portrait in oil paint that now hangs in CMSRU, three separate journal article illustrations, and a set of two illustrations for a textbook. During the summer of 2019, Karlee developed a detailed script and user experience flowchart for a virtual reality surgical simulation. She led a team of two BMAV students to design the user interface and develop 3D assets for the simulation. In collaboration with physicians from Cooper University Hospital, as well as Rowan’s Engineering Department, she helped to orchestrate the development of a functional demonstration of a virtual reality Total Hip Arthroplasty exposure. To cap off her career as an undergraduate student, she exhibited a collection of her medical artwork in Westby’s student gallery where she installed an impressive show that enthralled her peers and professors. Her honest passion for melding art and biological science is evident in her work and she does not shy away from a challenge. Karlee is now a full-time Content Developer and Designer for the NMI, and is a Teacher’s Assistant for the same drawing elective at CMSRU that started her on this opportune path.