Helping Science Speak Through Visual Storytelling

SCIENCE | 6 MIN READ

By Kim Donaldson | Images by Phospho Biomedical Animation

Dr Jeroen Claus ’08 wasn’t chasing a start-up dream. He was chasing clarity—the kind that can turn molecular biology into something you can see.

In 2014, he founded Phospho, a biomedical animation studio now based in Rotterdam, which works with scientists and institutions around the world. From viruses infecting cells to proteins misfiring deep within the human body, Claus’s intricate, data-driven animations make the invisible visible. With a PhD in cancer biology and a background in both science and the humanities, Claus is uniquely equipped to operate at the intersection of accuracy, aesthetics, and accessibility.

From Pipettes to Pixels

Claus's journey started at University College Utrecht, where he double majored in life sciences and humanities, specifically literature and museum studies. “That multidisciplinary approach always really spoke to me,” he said. “Going to study medical science at university directly was never an option for me.”

He pursued his interest in biology through a formative summer internship at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, followed by a research master’s in cancer biology at Imperial College London. He then joined the Cancer Research UK’s London Research Institute (now part of the Francis Crick Institute) for his PhD. But life in the lab wasn’t quite what he expected.

“Science is a little bit weird in that sense,” he said. “You can study it, but doing it is completely different. You go really deep into one thing, and it’s tough when that thing just doesn’t work.” His own project reached a dead end, and he began gravitating toward something else entirely.

“During my PhD, I realised I really enjoyed the communication side of science,” he said. “Not the writing part, but the visual side.” Lab meetings were often where his diagrams outshone the data. “They’d be full of vivid, polished visuals of what the experiments would look like, but the results would fall flat,” he said with a laugh.

Visuals That Move Minds

Phospho’s work isn’t just eye-catching, it’s built on scientific accuracy. From early projects for Cancer Research UK to award-winning animations on COVID-19, the studio has made a name for itself translating complex biological processes into clear, emotionally compelling visuals. One such project visualised the full life cycle of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “We wanted to show every single step,” Claus said. “The problem was, half of it—the scientific community didn’t know how it worked yet.” Working with researchers at Maastricht University, they updated scenes in real time as new papers were published. “It was a very exciting project to be part of.”

Another project carried even deeper stakes, pulling Claus and his team into the world of law: a collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute as part of a recent symposium on the use of genetic evidence in legal cases. The team was tasked with helping communicate the scientific research behind the wrongful imprisonment of Australian mother Kathleen Folbigg. Convicted of the unexplained deaths of her four children, Folbigg spent 20 years in prison before scientists discovered a rare genetic mutation, passed to all four children, that affects a protein involved in regulating heartbeat and can result in fatal heart failure.

Claus’s team created a clear, accessible animation to explain the science behind the genetic autopsy. “We did the smallest part,” he insists. “But it's really important to highlight this research, because it's an entirely new way to approach genetic evidence in court cases. This method could hopefully avoid wrongful imprisonment of parents who have gone through the tragic loss of their children.”

Where Accuracy Meets Imagination

Phospho’s approach is rooted in accuracy. Claus's team works with real structural data like atomic coordinates of proteins, known behaviours of cellular structures, and builds visualisations with software like SideFX Houdini, a procedural animation tool used widely across the visual effects and games industries. The result? Intricate 3D animations that balance cutting-edge scientific research with cinematic storytelling.

“If I wanted to make a tumour with more than 30,000 cells in the software I used before, it would crash,” Claus said. “Now we’re regularly doing 10 million. You’re still far from the number of cells in an actual tumour, but you get that sense of scale.” Accuracy isn’t just about scientific integrity, it’s the backbone of good storytelling.

Who Uses Biomedical Animation?

The answer: nearly everyone.

Science animation is more than a niche, it’s a necessary bridge. Claus’s clients include academics presenting groundbreaking research, charities trying to engage donors, pharma companies seeking investor backing, and even lawyers involved in patent disputes. And as misinformation can swirl around science, that bridge becomes all the more vital.

You can’t understand what’s at stake if you don’t understand the science.

A Spark Lit at University College Utrecht

Looking back, Claus can trace his career to two pivotal moments at UCU. In Molecular Cell Biology 100, Professor Fred Wiegant showed a then-new Harvard animation called The Inner Life of the Cell. “The people who were into cell biology were just jaws on the floor,” Claus remembered.

Later, in Museum Studies with Mary Bouquet, he visited the Natural History Museum in London and met their interpretation team. “We learned how to bridge the gap between research and the public,” he said. “That was a big early insight into science communication.”

For those curious about blending art, data, and science, Claus offers practical advice: build a portfolio. Learn the relevant software like Blender or Houdini. Consider internships during your PhD. And don’t be afraid to shift course.

While Claus occasionally jokes about being a “failed scientist,” it’s clear he doesn’t see it that way anymore. “It taught me to think in a specific way,” he said. “A very specific methodology.” Now, with every frame of animation, he brings that thinking to life, through imagination, evidence, storytelling, and science.