Selene Nunez-Cruz
“I’m just a curious mind that loves to merge science and art as unit.”
Selene Nunez-Cruz is a senior researcher at the University of Pennsylvania and an imaginative artist that uses microscopic battles to inspire her abstract paintings. While investigating cancers and, more recently, the COVID-19 virus, Selene finds hope in her art where she represents colors and abstract forms that make her feel like she is defeating the enemy. Through painting and research, Selene has been working to satisfy her curious mind since childhood, taking up interests in the arts and sciences and combining them to learn about how things are made. When she was 18, she got an arts and theatre degree, but decided to get a Master’s in Biochemistry and then a PhD in Immunology to fulfill her endless quest for knowledge.
WHERE DO ART AND YOUR DISCIPLINE MEET?
“I’m a researcher focused on understanding how our immune cells fight against cancer or diseases such COVID19. Seeing images of the battles under a microscope give me the inspiration to create art and represent colors and abstract forms that make feel that we are defeating the enemy.”
biography:
I’m just a curious mind that loves to merge science and art as unit. Since childhood I have loved to read and learn about how and why things are made, but also I used my imagination to put ideas in a physical form or piece of art. I explored using different materials and media to create something new. At the same time I always had an interest for intellectual and art pursuits. When I was 18, I got an arts and theater degree but I felt incomplete and decided to get a Master in biochemistry and then a PhD in immunology to fulfill my curiosity for knowledge. Currently I m a Upenn scientist working on cancer and COVID19. I hope that our work will contribute to something beneficial for the humanity.