Melissa Clarkson

Melissa Clarkson works at the intersection of informatics, design, and life sciences. Her research centers on representation of anatomy, with an emphasis on bringing visual communication into the fields of knowledge representation and biomedical informatics. She leads Endless Forms Studio, a team which develops resources which represent anatomical knowledge by integrating visual and semantic information. For example, libraries of anatomical graphics are augmented with computer-readable semantics so that they can serve as interface components of intelligent information systems. Other topics of interest are how biomedical ontologies can be used to provide semantic consistency and the role ontologies can play in making interfaces more useful and usable.

Dr. Clarkson also has interests in (a) teaching communication skills to scientists and engineers (including data visualization, poster design, presentation design), (b) responsible conduct of research, (c) ethical, legal, and social issues in biomedical informatics, and (d) safety and transparency in the healthcare system.