Mayo Clinic’s Christian Hanson Speaks to Students During Common Experience

November 10, 2025

Christian Hanson, a simulation engineer at Mayo Clinic’s Anatomic Modeling Unit, spoke with students during Common Ex on Monday, November 10th. Common Ex is a series of presentations where students often hear about the artistic life from practicing artists, many of whom are Perpich graduates.

Christian Hanson spoke with students during Common Ex on Monday, November 10th. After the presentation, he is pictured with Ethan Smerud (Music 2026) who is sharing their portfolio with Hanson.

Students got an inside look at Hanson’s unexpected career path which includes special effects and medical modeling. Christian, who began by sculpting creature masks and horror props, explained how skills from the movie world later helped him build museum exhibits and even lifesaving medical tools.

“I wasn’t formally trained; I just kept sculpting until the work started looking the way I imagined,” he told students, describing how he learned practical effects before the internet made tutorials easy to find. “Most of us learned special effects before the internet. You relied on magazines, library books, and a lot of trial and error.”

He walked the audience through his early work creating latex masks, creature busts, and prosthetics for film studios and haunted attractions. While the effects might look like the work of one person, he explained that studio projects rely heavily on teamwork. “A creature might go through five or six different artists before it’s finished,” he said.

Christian’s career took a turn when he began sculpting for museum exhibits with Split Rock Studios, creating natural history specimens and historical figures. From there, he moved into medical simulation, where he builds highly detailed training models used by doctors. “People assume art and medicine are separate worlds, but they rely on the same skills: precision, observation, and understanding form. Medical simulation changed everything for me,” he said. “Suddenly the art had a very real purpose—helping someone save a life.”

Today, he works at the Mayo Clinic transforming CT and MRI scans into 3D-printed models that surgeons use to plan complex procedures. “You can hold a patient’s anatomy in your hands before you operate,” he explained. “Creating a trainer for intubation or a surgical procedure means the anatomy has to be perfect. There’s no room for movie magic here.”

Hanson encouraged students to follow their interests, even if they don’t know where they’ll lead. “Your path doesn’t have to be linear,” he said. “Skills you learn for fun can become your career in the most unexpected ways.”

After the presentation, Hanson spoke with Ethan Smerud (Music 2026) and Ethan was able to share their portfolio with Hanson. “When I was speaking with him, he said my art was cool,” said Ethan. “He said it was easy to find the proper resources and to learn to sculpt and create my own special effects art.”

Christian Hanson is a simulation engineer at Mayo Clinic’s Anatomic Modeling Unit, specializing in the design and fabrication of highly realistic medical task trainers and patient education models. He has been fascinated by the art of special makeup effects since childhood, and has taken his interest in sculpture, painting, molding and fabrication into a variety of subjects. In addition to film effects, these include collectible models, Halloween masks and props, set building, animal sculptures, museum environments and his current field of medical simulation. Over the last few years, he has branched into digital sculpting and CAD design, creating new ways to merge his traditional art skills and effects techniques with the latest in 3D printing technology. Christian lives in Rochester, MN.