As an avid reader and fervent viewer of the health channel growing up, Tonya’s passion for science and storytelling began at a very young age. After receiving her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Tonya initially looked for research opportunities. She began her career as a research assistant for a kidney disease study at Johns Hopkins. It was during that time that she discovered medical illustration. She chose to pivot from her research interests and pursue medical illustration as a career. Tonya enjoyed learning oil painting and figure drawing during weekend classes at the Schuler School of Fine Arts before joining Johns Hopkins’ MBI program.  

As a first-year medical illustration student, Tonya has been greatly inspired by the field’s potential to use art to represent diverse individuals in medicine-related media. So far, she has been drawn to projects that allow her to combine 2D and 3D media to tell compelling stories. 

Beyond illustrating scientific or medical topics, Tonya enjoys capturing the diversity of the human form through figure and portrait drawings. In her free time, Tonya can be found cooking, playing her Nintendo switch, or juggling her soccer ball.