Yu-Hui Huang holding a 3D printed model of her dog's skull and tumor, which she printed for a veterinary surgeon to assist with his surgeryYu-Hui Huang was one of those students who focused on both the arts and the sciences during her time at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences. Huang majored in art and biology, and minored in art history and chemistry.
“I couldn’t let go of either,” said Huang, who graduated in 2009. “They intertwine and play on each other’s strengths. Really understanding the arts helped me learn the sciences at times, and vice versa. They both helped me utilize one field with the other.”
Huang discovered a profession that incorporates both disciplines when she became an illustrator for anatomy textbooks and scientific medical journals. That has led to an actual medical career for Huang, who received an M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 2019. She currently works as a radiologist for both the University of Minnesota Medical Center and Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.
This dual career path for Huang began after her family immigrated from Taiwan to Birmingham when she was 10 years old. While attending the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School in Irondale, Huang took art classes taught by Olsen Ross, who also was a painting instructor at UAB.
“He noticed my interest in art and really encouraged me to pursue it beyond just a mere hobby,” Huang said. “He was very instrumental in terms of inspiring me to pursue the arts. But I was always interested in science as well, and I was trying to think of a way to combine the two.”
The answer arose during Huang’s time at UAB. She began asking some faculty members about ways to incorporate both interests and learned about medical illustrations. Then Leslie Hendon, the Department of Biology instructional laboratory supervisor, offered her an opportunity to illustrate an anatomy lab manual.
Yu-Hui Huang’s illustration of a spleen from her portfolio.“These are illustrations that help communicate the process and ideas behind all this complex information,” Huang said. “So I had to really study the information, and then illustrate it the best I could.”
Along the way, Huang says her artistic capabilities improved thanks to instruction from several UAB faculty members, including Doug Baulos, associate professor of drawing and bookmaking, and Gary Chapman, professor emeritus of painting.
“Doug Baulos was a fabulous drawing professor,” said Huang. “Doug really pushed me outside my comfort zone, which helped with my growth. And Gary Chapman helped lay the foundation for a lot of the technical abilities I’ve had artistically.
“I was very fortunate to learn from some great people at UAB, and the way they helped support me during my whole path of trying to figure things out. All of them helped shaped my future, and lay the foundation for my interest and passion in both the arts and the sciences.”
Upon graduating from UAB, Huang earned an M.S. in Biomedical Visualization from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) in 2013. Then after receiving her M.D. in 2019, Huang became a resident radiologist in Minneapolis and has been there ever since.
Huang continues to utilize her art skills through the design and printing of 3D models that help with clinical care. But mindful of the assistance she received during her time at UAB, Huang also started working in 2022 as an adjunct professor for the UIC Graduate Biomedical Visualization Program.
“One of the reasons I decided to pursue teaching is because of all those professors and instructors who played such a big role in my life,” Huang said. “I believe in giving back. And hopefully by sharing what I’ve learned along the way, it will help someone else as well.”