When Greg Betza received this commission from Thomas Jefferson University to contribute to their magazine he was excited as he’s always been drawn to butterfly imagery and the idea of metamorphosis, but that was not at all what this was about. Butterfly disease is a devastating disorder that often leads to an aggressive and fatal skin cancer. People who have this rare genetic condition have skin as fragile as butterfly’s wings because their bodies do not make enough collagen to hold the layers of their skin together. This leads to painful blistering and ultimately cancer. Most patients do not live to the age of 35.

Fortunately this article was not only about the disease, but the promising research into a therapy to treat the disease. You can read the article and see more of Greg’s illustrations here: RESEARCH: Thomas Jefferson University