2022 AMI Online Salon
Block, Flag, Deliver: How Monoclonal Antibodies Treat Cancer
Project Detail
- Entrant Name: Devon Stuart
- Other Contributors: Terese Winslow
- Client: National Cancer Institute
- Copyright: Terese Winslow, MA, CMI and Devon Stuart, MA, CMI, 2020
- Medium/software used: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Autodesk 3DS Max
- Final presentation format: Cancer.gov website and NCI YouTube Channel
- Primary Audience: General public
Project Description
Monoclonal antibodies have emerged as a powerful tool to detect and combat cancer. Their usage is varied and is poorly understood by the general public. The purpose of this animation is to give a diverse audience a working knowledge of how monoclonal antibodies are used to treat cancer. The story is framed by artwork of a Black male cancer patient in order to highlight the importance of providing optimal cancer care to this population which has been shown to receive suboptimal care.The animation is organized around three key concepts that summarize the actions of monoclonal antibodies: “block, flag and deliver.” The learner hears and reads that they can be used to “block” molecules cancer cells need to grow, “flag” cancer cells for destruction by the immune system or “deliver” harmful substances to cancer cells. The stories of four monoclonal antibodies are shown to illustrate the three actions. The 3D models for each are a hybrid of atomic structure and abstracted “lock and key” antibody design. This design approach gives a concrete demonstration of how each antibody fits to the target while also showing the reality of its lively flexibility. To increase the accessibility of this important information, the final animation was published in both English and Spanish and closed-captioning was provided in each language.
