Comics
Why so Distracted?
ARTIST
NADINE SCHOLTES
Nadine Scholtes (born 1992) is an illustrator and comic book artist based in Luxembourg. She has been drawing her whole life. At the age of 16, she started studying art at Lycée des Arts et Métiers, and several years later obtained a bachelor’s degree in Communication Design from Hochschule Trier.
She became an official freelance illustrator in 2019 and has since taken on all kinds of assignments. One of these is a comic book called Northstars Yule Be Sorry. She has also created her own comic book series called Cool Uncle.
Location
Stadtbredimus, Luxembourg
Artistic Focus
Comic & illustrations, fantasy, slice of life
Contributions to LUX:plorations:
Why so Distracted?
Why did you participate in LUX:plorations?
“I was asked if I wanted to participate. I’m always looking for new challenges and I loved the idea of putting science into comics.”
What did you like most about LUX:plorations?
“What I enjoyed most was seeing what ideas the students came up with. They did a great job and I learned something new about science every time.”
What was the biggest challenge for you?
“The biggest challenge was to fit so much information into just a few pages. But it all worked out in the end.”
SCIENTISTS/AUTHORS
ANGELICA MENDES
Angélica Mendes is investigating children’s approach-avoidance motivation and executive functions at the Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Science of the Faculté des Sciences Humaines, des Sciences de l’Education et des Sciences Sociales (FHSE).
Research Focus
Approach-avoidance motivation, executive functions
Affiliation
Computer-Based Assessment (CBA) Research Group, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE)
Contributions to LUX:plorations:
Why so distracted?
Why did you participate in LUX:plorations?
“Because I love making science more accessible and fun. I believe comics are an effective medium for introducing people to fascinating subjects.”
What did you like most about LUX:plorations?
“The teamwork that led to the rewarding feeling of achieving outstanding results.”
What was the biggest challenge for you?
“Both my toughest challenge and achievement was having to present the facts without offering a solution.”
FELICIA JEANNELLE
Felicia Jeannelle is investigating the signatures and the responses of astrocytes to noradrenaline using primary cell culture. The aim is to understand the changes to the noradrenergic system and its impact on astrocytes in Alzheimer’s brain.
Research Focus
Alzheimer’s disease, astrocytes, noradrenaline
Affiliation
National Center of Pathology (NCP), Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS); Luxembourg Centre of Neuropathology (LCNP)
Contributions to LUX:plorations:
Why so Distracted?
Why did you participate in LUX:plorations?
“For me, LUX:plorations was the ideal opportunity to communicate science and to share my fascination for working on the human brain. I think it is really important for the public to understand what we do in our labs, and I believe that images and comics are great ways to explain complex research topics. I am hoping that our comic will also get the next generation interested in research!”
What did you like most about LUX:plorations?
“I really enjoyed meeting and working with new PhD students and with artists from Luxembourg. I also loved working with Angelica – we made a great team!
I learned a lot from this amazing project!”
What was the biggest challenge for you?
“I found it really challenging to explain our topic with a limited amount of information while also making it clear and interesting.”
MENTOR
JESSICA BURTON
Jessica Burton gained her PhD at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH), working on the relationship between European comic transfers in the 1960s within the Popkult60 project. She previously worked as a comic editor for Titan Comics, on titles such as Doctor Who, before embarking on her PhD. She is a mentor for LUX:plorations and teaches classes on comics history at the University.
Research Focus
Comics, History, Cross-cultural Transfers, Popular Culture
Contributions to LUX:plorations:
What Is a PhD?
Zamara & Yso’s Space Odissey
It’s About Time!
One Ome To Rule Them All
The Future Is Now
Beware the Eye in the Sky
Becoming an Agent of Change
Chronicles from Platform 6
Inside the Solar Cell
Microglia: Guardians of the Brain?
Why so Distracted?
Quantastic Journey
Why did you participate in LUX:plorations?
“I truly believe in the power of comics to inform and educate, so jumped at the chance to help fellow doctoral candidates learn how to tell their research through comics form.”
What did you like most about LUX:plorations?
“Watching the doctoral candidates work on their ideas and seeing them engage with the artists for an amazing end product.”
What was the biggest challenge for you?
“Finding the balance between suggesting ideas and allowing participants maximum creativity.”
SUPERVISOR
SERGE HAAN
Serge Haan is a professor of biological chemistry in the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine (DLSM) at the University of Luxembourg. His research in the Molecular Disease Mechanisms Group focusses on molecular disease mechanisms associated with the development and metastasis of colon cancer: how do cancer cells develop resistance to treatment and how do they interact with their microenvironment? His strong interest in communicating science to the public led to his founding the DESCOM project.
Research Focus
Molecular Disease Mechanisms, Cellular Signaling
Contributions to LUX:plorations:
One Ome To Rule Them All
Was it Really About Nature?
Inside the Solar Cell
A Gut Feeling
Why so Distracted?
Why did you participate in LUX:plorations?
“I like thinking about how to break down difficult scientific content into understandable communications. It is actually a fun challenge and I consider it a duty of a University to reach out to the public.”
What did you like most about LUX:plorations?
“The dynamic of the entire team is excellent. Everybody is extremely motivated and we are all working towards the same goal.”
What was the biggest challenge for you?
“The length of the stories was a major challenge, as you have to introduce and develop a character and a story, but also include the right amount of science to get the reader interested in the topic.”
ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR
DAVID BOUVIER
A science workshop about the topic was developed by Angélica Mendes and Félicia Jeannelle. You can download the guidelines for this and even find further resources on the following page: