About the Artist
Elizabeth Nixon-Shapiro, MSMI, is professional Medical Illustrator and graduate of the Medical Illustration Graduate Program at Georgia Regents’ University (formerly the Medical College of Georgia). At a young age, she was always interested in both art and science, spending most of her time exploring the woods near her childhood home in Georgia, and observing the plants and animals that live there. She excelled at drawing from an early age and always loved to illustrate the animals she observed. She attended the University of Georgia where she earned a BS in Ecology and a BFA in Scientific Illustration. While earning her simultaneous degrees, she held many art internships in the scientific community, including an internship as a visiting artist for the American Museum of Natural History’s Vertebrate Paleontology department.
After graduating from UGA, she was able to use both of her degrees in her first job working for the Coweeta Long-Term Ecological Research program, and combined her interests in both science and art to produce brochures, booklets, web and print graphics as well as illustrations for journal articles. It was this unique combination in both an applied, experiment-based science and a visual art that focuses on scientific communication, which drove Elizabeth to continue her education in Medical Illustration.
At the Medical Illustration Graduate Program, Elizabeth continues her track record of success in earning awards in both Scientific and Medical Illustration. She continues to express her passion and interest for ecology in a medical setting, and finds that her training has thoroughly prepared her to look at the overall, integrated view of the human body: how each organ system - like an ecosystem, interacts and receives inputs from other systems and produces outputs for others. She also enjoys applying various ecological approaches to discovering the interconnectedness of medicine and the human body. Elizabeth’s love for the natural world amplifies her fascination with the human body and medicine, and will continue to influence her work in the future.
Résumé in Brief
Education and Honors
MSMI; Medical Illustration, GRU, May 2014
BFA; Scientific Illustration, UGA, Dec. 2010
BS; Ecology, UGA, Dec. 2010
HOPE Scholarship, Aug. 05 – Aug. 09
2014 William Stenstrom Award of Excellence
2013 Award of Merit for Outstanding Medical Illustration
2010 Lloyd Logan Award of Excellence in Scientific Illustration
2010 Joshua Laerm Award of Excellence in Scientific Illustration
2010 Joshua Laerm Scholarship, Georgia Museum of Natural History
2009 Award of Merit for Outstanding Scientific Illustration
Work and Research Experience
Jan. 2011 – Aug. 2012
Graphic Artist, Coweeta LTER, University of Georgia
Aug. 2010 – Dec. 2010
Lab Assistant, University of Georgia
Jan. 2010 – May 2010
Intern Artist, Odum School of Ecology
Intern Artist, Georgia Museum of Natural History
June 2009 – Aug. 2009
Visiting Artist, American Museum of Natural History
May 2008 – May 2009
Web Administrator and Artist, Discover Life
Aug. 2007 – Nov. 2007
Sales Associate, University of Georgia Bookstore
Sep. 2005 – May 2006
Intern, Discover Life
Testimonials
"Ms. Nixon brought my vision to life with her beautiful illustrations! My website is now complete with exceptional patient educational artwork. She was easy to work with and very professional."
-Sanders R. Callaway, MD