Ylenia Vimercati, M.Sc.
Ylenia holds a Master's in Digital Scientific Illustration and an MSc in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology. She is an independent scientific and nature illustrator.
She seeks to foster curiosity, appreciation, and respect for nature through her artistic expression. She utilizes her creative side as a meeting point across various scientific disciplines, artistic endeavors, and exploratory pursuits. Her works serve as educational instruments in both environmental literature and travel narratives.
Education
2024
Trazos - Escuela Superior de Artes Digitales, Spain
MS IN DIGITAL SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION
Creation of scientifically accurate illustrations across disciplines such as zoology, botany, microbiology, geology, human anatomy, and archaeology, culminating in the comprehensive design, layout, and publication of a digital portfolio.
2017
University of Milan, Italy
MSC IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Dissertation title: A comparative study of whistle characteristics between Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).
2013
University of Milan, Italy
BSC IN NATURAL SCIENCES
With honors
Dissertation title: Hypothetical theropod coprolites from the Late Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation of North America: analysis, paleobiological significance and interpretation on the identity of the animal source.
Awards
FINALIST in the 2024 FIIN Festival Internacional de Imagem de Natureza Biodiversity Drawing Competition in the category of Scientific Illustration with two infographics: 'Extreme Life' and 'Turning Red'. November 2025.
FINALIST & SPECIAL MENTION in the Scientific Category of the 12th International Award on Scientific and Nature Illustration by ILLUSTRACIENCIA with 'Life on Ice'. April 2025.
FIRST PRIZE in the 2024 FIIN Festival Internacional de Imagem de Natureza Biodiversity Drawing Competition in the category of Scientific Illustration. October 2024. Awarded €500
FINALIST in the 2024 FIIN - Vila Real Biodiversity Drawing Contest exhibition with four artworks: 'Superb Starling', 'Iridescence', 'Ranitomeya imitator', and 'Camponotus ligniperda'. August 2024.
FIRST PRIZE in the VI Scientific Illustration Contest of the Faculty of Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF MALAGA in collaboration with the MALAGA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, with the infographic 'Coprinus comatus'. June 2024. Awarded €500
FINALIST in the Scientific Category of the 11th International Award on Scientific and Nature Illustration by ILLUSTRACIENCIA with 'River Crossing in Borneo'. April 2024.
Featured illustrations and publications
2025
FEMS Yeast Research
SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATOR
Contributed digital figures to the scientific paper: Lara Vimercati, Clifton P Bueno de Mesquita, Igor V Grigoriev, Sajeet Haridas, Steven K Schmidt, Alisha Quandt, The genome of the polyextremophilic yeast, Naganishia friedmannii, reveals adaptations involved in stress response pathways, carbohydrate metabolism expansion, and a limited DNA repair repertoire, FEMS Yeast Research, Volume 25, 2025, foaf028. Link to publication.
2024
University of Colorado, Boulder
EBIO
SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATOR
Contributed digital figures to the scientific paper focused on extreme environments as part of the research of the Quandt Mycology Lab: de Mesquita, C. P. B., Vimercati, L., Wu, D., Childress, M. K., Danz, A., Grupe, A. C., ... & Quandt, C. A. (2024). Fungal diversity and function in metagenomes sequenced from extreme environments. Fungal Ecology, 72, 101383. Link to publication.
2024
New Solutions
AUTHOR
Using Evidence-based Scientific Research to Influence Dietary Behavioral Change: Taking a Look in the Mirror. Bueno de Mesquita CP, Vimercati Molano Y, Vimercati L, de Mesquita PJB.. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/10482911241235380
2022
FEMS Microbiology Ecology
AUTHOR
Dynamic trophic shifts in bacterial and eukaryotic communities during the first 30 years of microbial succession following retreat of an Antarctic glacier.
Vimercati, L., Bueno de Mesquita, C. P., Johnson, B. W., Mineart, D., DeForce, E., Vimercati Molano, Y., ... & Schmidt, S. K. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 98(12), fiac122.