Current President of the Vesalius Trust
Jim Perkins is Professor of Medical Illustration in the College of Health Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Adjunct Instructor in Anatomy for the Ithaca College School of Health Sciences and Human Performance.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and geology from Cornell University in 1985 and studied vertebrate paleontology and anatomy at the University of Texas, Austin and University of Rochester. During this time, he also served as a Science Educator for the newly opened Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond. In 1992, he received a master’s degree in Medical Illustration from RIT and worked as a Senior Illustrator for Nucleus Medical Art before returning to RIT to join the faculty in 1998.
Prof. Perkins is best known for illustrating several highly regarded medical texts including Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, Robbins’ Pathologic Basis of Disease, and Robbins’ Basic Pathology. He is also part of a team of artists who update and add to the work of the late Dr. Frank H. Netter. Prof. Perkins made significant contributions to numerous Netter titles, including Netter’s Atlas of Human Physiology, Netter’s Atlas of Neuroscience, Netter’s Illustrated Pharmacology, and Netter’s Histology. He is currently working on an update to the Netter Collection of Medical Illustrations, a 13-book set that was the pinnacle of Dr. Netter’s 50-year relationship with CIBA Pharmaceuticals (later Novartis).
Prof. Perkins is a Board Certified Medical Illustrator (CMI) and a Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI). He also serves as Chairman of the AMI Membership Committee and as a member of the AMI’s Council on Education.
