Frank Armitage Lecture Series
About The Series
Established in 2006, this annual series is held in honor of beloved medical illustrator and Disney Imagineer, Frank Armitage. Frank’s visionary work touched many lives, most well-known for his contributions to classic films such as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Mary Poppins,” and “Fantastic Voyage,” among many others. As a self-taught anatomist, Frank’s illustrations and set designs pushed the boundaries of biomedical visualization, captivating others with a sense of awe and mysterious intrigue. Frank and his family enthusiastically supported the field, donating many of his medical illustrations to the UIC Biomedical Visualization program in 2006. They are now exhibited in the Department of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences. In 2019, an endowed scholarship in his name was established for students in the program.
Each year, this lecture series celebrates his legacy by featuring a keynote speaker who is an innovator in their field, pushing the boundaries into the unknown and inspiring countless others, just like Frank did.
Frank Armitage Eye Illustration
Eye illustration by Frank Armitage
Register Now: The 2026 Frank Armitage Lecture
The 2026 Frank Armitage Lecture will be hosted on Zoom on Thursday, March 5, 2026, from 12:00-1:15 PM CST. It will feature Dr. Michael Doyle, who will give a 60-minute lecture titled “The Art of Scientific Exploration: The biomedical visualization roots of Spatial Biology and the creation of a research revolution.” A 15-minute Q&A will follow.
This event has been approved for 1.25 Bio hours of AMI Continuing Education Units.
Meet the Speaker
Dr. Michael Doyle
Dr. Michael Doyle
Dr. Michael Doyleis uniquely qualified to teach a seminar on the origins of spatial biology and its relationship to biomedical visualization because he is widely recognized as the father of Spatial Biology and was the lead inventor of the first patented system for spatial genomics/spatial transcriptomics (SAGA) in the 1990s, which enabled multidimensional mapping of gene expression within tissue morphological context. Trained as a scientist and educator, he led the Visible Embryo Project, an ambitious effort to build interactive 3D biostructural knowledge bases that explicitly fused structural imaging with functional genomic data, a conceptual bridge that directly connects early spatial biology with the aims of biomedical visualization. His faculty role in the Biomedical Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago, recruited by pioneering medical illustrator Lew Sadler, placed him at the intersection of advanced imaging, computer graphics, and biological explanation, giving him deep experience in how visual tools shape scientific understanding. Doyle’s work has not only launched a new scientific discipline — twice recognized by Nature as “Method of the Year” through spatial transcriptomics (2020) and spatial proteomics (2024) — but has also continually emphasized the design of visual, interactive systems for exploring complex tissue data, making him exceptionally well positioned to explain both the historical development of spatial biology and its intrinsic dependence on principles and practices of biomedical visualization.
The 2025 Frank Armitage Lecture
The 2025 Frank Armitage Lecture occurred March 6, 2025 and honored visual innovators in biomedicine. It featured lectures by Natalie Doolittle, MS, Medical Illustrator and Armitage’s granddaughter, as well as Certified Clinical Anaplastologist Suzanne Verma, MAMS, CCA.
Natalie Doolittle gave a 25-minute talk on Frank Armitage which was followed by the 50-minute keynote Anaplastology: Guided by Innovation, Driven by Compassion presented by Suzanne Verma.
To view a recording of the lecture, email Sam Bond at sbond7@uic.edu.
About the Keynote Anaplastology: Guided by Innovation, Driven by Compassion
Anaplastology is the art and science of restoring a malformed or absent part of the body through artificial means. Patients seeking rehabilitation may have a facial difference by congenital origin or acquired through trauma or surgical resection. Treatment with a facial prosthesis can not only improve function and esthetics but can also provide the patient with psychosocial healing and a renewed sense of self-esteem.
Digital technologies have made a substantial shift in the way anaplastologists conceptualize and provide prosthetic reconstruction. Computer-driven systems have enabled 3D imaging, simulation planning, surgical navigation, and 3D printing, improving patient treatment worldwide with accuracy and efficiency. This presentation discussed the applications of advanced technology, and future directions of the field of Anaplastology.
Donate to the Frank Armitage Scholarship
The scholarship is awarded to students in the biomedical visualization program in honor of medical illustrator and Disney Imagineer Frank Armitage.