Ryan Skidmore is combining illustration and biology to promote science literacy.

A person with curly dark hair and glasses working at a desk with a laptop decorated with stickers. The person wears a black hoodie with designs related to guitars. The workspace has art supplies, a shelf with art materials and a plush toy, and a cup
A young man and an older woman are standing at a podium at a university event. The woman is reading or speaking into a microphone, and the young man is smiling. There is a glass of water on the podium and green curtains in the background.
An array of educational posters and brochures about tick identification and removal, including illustrations of a tick, mushrooms, and a bird.
Six people smiling and posing for a selfie at a conference or gathering, with name tags and lanyards, in a room with round tables and other people in the background.
Group of ten diverse young adults who work for an academic lab standing inside a university, some wearing glasses and one with a face mask, smiling for a photo.
Group of diverse people gathered for a conference or event inside a large building.
People gathered at an art exhibit, looking at framed artwork on the wall, including nature-themed and animal illustrations.
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Experience

Graphic Artist Intern

Oliverio Lab, Syracuse University

1/2025 - Current

  • Illustrating and designing graphic assets of protist feeding mechanisms for academic papers.

  • Creative director and content producer of a field guide to sourdough microbes for internal documentation and to be shared with other labs. 

  • Designing methods for color quantification of Pichia membranifaciens to better identify genetic diversity.

Art Instructor

YMCA, Syracuse City School District

2022-2025

  • Provided quality art education for the Syracuse City School District (SCSD).

  • Instructed 4-6th graders on the creation of nature dioramas.

  • Supplemented art education with ecology education through various projects involving plant identification and preservation.

Education

Onondaga Community College

8/2024 - 5/2026

  • Math/Science AS, biology focus.

  • Member Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society.

  • Recipient of the 2025 Faculty Endowed Award for Excellence

  • I find I produce the best art when I am procrastinating on calculus homework.

Rochester Institute of Technology

2017-2021

  • Illustration BFA.

Work

Conferences

GSNI Visual SciComm Conference 2025

7/13/2025 - 7/19/2025

Northeastern Microbiologists: Physiology, Ecology and Taxonomy Conference 2025

6/27/2025-6/29/2025

Presented a poster about the ongoing sourdough field guide

Hobbies

CNYHiking

10/2023 - Forever!

  • LGBT-focused hiking group in Central New York.

  • This group was created to take advantage of the natural wealth of Upstate New York, and to give the queer community more opportunities to make connections.