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<\/h3>\nKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Dec. 10, 2012 \u2013 It can be difficult to understand how drugs like Iressa and Prozac work in the body just from reading a textbook. That\u2019s why students at the University of Rhode Island have been creating 3D models and animations to explain complex scientific processes using simple visuals. 3D biomedical science videos receives 1 million hits KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Dec. 10, 2012 \u2013 It can be difficult to understand how drugs like Iressa and Prozac work in the body just from reading a textbook. That\u2019s why students at the University of Rhode Island have been creating 3D models and animations to explain complex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":639,"featured_media":6626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[143,161,185,35,131],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-3d","category-news-bps","category-news-people-cho","category-news","category-news-teaching"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/639"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe collection of YouTube videos, titled \u201cURIanimation<\/a>,\u201d has received more than 1 million views. The students have created 22 videos in the past five years.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a significant achievement for our animation students and is a global outreach effort that far exceeds any other URI-based YouTube videos,\u201d said Bongsup Cho<\/a>, professor of medicinal chemistry and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Pharmacy. Cho manages the YouTube page and 3D animation project.
\nProfessors in Israel and China have commented on some of the videos, expressing interest in redoing the voiceovers in other languages for their students. Cho has granted these professors permission to use the videos for free as educational tools.
\nThe 3D animation and printing technology program is funded through grants from the Champlin Foundations and Provost\u2019s Innovative Approaches Using Technology.
\n\u201cMy job is to provide the students with high-end tools,\u201d Cho said. He credits the success of the YouTube page completely to the quality of the students\u2019 videos.
\nThe main lecture hall in the new pharmacy building has 3D capabilities with its projector system. Some of the students\u2019 videos are used as educational tools in various science classes held in this building.
\nSean Gilman, a junior doctor of pharmacy student from Hope Valley, R.I., produced a 3D animation video showing how the body becomes resistant to Iressa, a type of lung cancer treatment. The \u201cMechanism of Iressa Drug Resistance\u201d animation is used in some higher-level oncology classes.
\n\u201cCreating animations makes you an expert in that area,\u201d Gilman said. \u201cThis project has allowed me to study the pharmaceutical process and help other students learn.\u201d
\n\u201cThe animation project is an ongoing collaboration among students from many different majors,\u201d said Cho. Students in the colleges of Pharmacy, Engineering, and Arts and Sciences have created animations.
\nNick O\u2019Brien, who graduated in 2009 with a degree in philosophy and a minor in women\u2019s studies, was working as a student technical assistant on campus when he heard about the 3D animation project. His first project examined Cisplatin, a cancer drug. It took him eight months to produce the entire animation.
\n\u201cIf it took a year to do, that was OK \u2013 I just wanted it to be good,\u201d said O\u2019Brien of the project. \u201cIn college, there is a lot of pressure to get projects done in just a couple of weeks, but Dr. Cho was more focused on making quality animations and didn\u2019t care how long it took.\u201d
\nAs a student technical assistant, O\u2019Brien had 24-hour access to the College of Pharmacy\u2019s computer lab, which allowed him to work late at night without any distractions.
\n\u201cWorking in the lab was one of the coolest, most focused work experiences I\u2019ve ever had, and one that I will never forget,\u201d O\u2019Brien said.
\nO\u2019Brien produced a second video on the molecular mechanism of Prozac, which he completed as his senior project for the honors program.
\nSteve Norris, a senior computer engineering student, has also been involved in the animation project as part of his student technical assistant job.
\nThe North Attleboro, Mass. resident had limited science knowledge and had never worked on 3D animations before, but his strong computer background helped him catch on quickly.
\nUnlike some other animations, Norris\u2019 animation is interactive and set up in more of a self-test format. Students can watch animations of protein synthesis and answer review questions to quiz themselves on biological concepts. Norris\u2019 mother, Joanna Hanks Norris, a professor in the biology department, uses this animation in her cell biology classes.
\nFor Jeff Ferrucci, the animation project gives him an opportunity to combine aspects of his two majors: physics and film\/media. Like most of the other students in the program, Ferrucci had no prior experience creating animations.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about animation, but I liked it immediately,\u201d said Ferrucci, a Cumberland, R.I. resident. \u201cIt has become one of my favorite hobbies.\u201d
\nOver the last year or so, Ferrucci has made about four or five animations on his own and helped other students with theirs. His animations have been used in environmental and nature resource economics and honors physics courses.
\nTo view the videos on the URI animation page, visit www.youtube.com\/user\/URIanimation<\/a>. The more recent videos are uploaded to YouTube in 3D and can be viewed as such on home computers using red and blue 3D glasses.
\nThis press release was written by Danielle Sanda, an intern in URI\u2019s Department of Marketing and Communications and a public relations major.
\nPictured above:
\nANIMATION MEETS SCIENCE:Five students involved in URI\u2019s 3D animation program stand in front of a projection of one of the student-produced videos, which shows how the body becomes resistant to Iressa, a type of lung cancer treatment. Pictured, from left to right, are: Sean Gilman, Ian Weininger of Middletown, R.I., Joseph Schrader of Wakefield, R.I., Jeff Ferrucci and Steve Norris.
\n3D PRINTING: In addition to 3D animations, students can also create tangible models of molecules using a 3D printer. Some of the molecule printouts are pictured here.
\nMarketing & Communications photos by Michael Salerno Photography.
\nMedia Contact:\u00a0Dave Lavallee<\/a>, 401-874-5862
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