Christian Alfaro, DVM, MSI is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with a background in scientific illustration. He completed his veterinary degree at the National University of Costa Rica and has dedicated his career to bridging biomedical sciences and visual arts through anatomical education. Dr. Alfaro earned his Master’s degree in Scientific Illustration from Maastricht University and Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, where he focused on developing models for anatomical and surgical training. He has held academic and technical positions at the National University of Costa Rica and the Institute of Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. His work combines over a decade of experience in veterinary clinical practice, teaching, and the development of both physical and digital anatomical models. He currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland, where he continues to create innovative anatomical resources that integrate accuracy, accessibility, and visual clarity to enhance the learning experience.
M. Michael Swindle, DVM, is a professor emeritus and retired chairman of the Department of Comparative Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. He received his BS and DVM from Texas A&M University and is a diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and the European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. He was in the US Army, ran a private veterinary practice, and was at Johns Hopkins Medical School. He has received several research awards and was honored as an outstanding alumnus of the College of Veterinary Medicine. His many publications and presentations are mainly in the areas of experimental surgery, anesthesia, and swine as animal models. He continues to be active in research and teaching as a private consultant for using porcine models.
Kristi L. Helke, DVM, PhD is Professor and Chair Department of Comparative Medicine, MUSC College of Medicine. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2000 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her PhD in pathobiology was earned at Johns Hopkins Medical School in 2007, where she also completed her pathology residency following a year of private veterinary practice in Goose Creek, SC. Dr. Helke has been a veterinary pathologist at MUSC since 2007. During this time, she has developed numerous collaborations with researchers in many fields of interest at MUSC, including neuroscience, lipidomics, cancer, and transplant researchers. She has several successful collaborations with local biotech companies, and she oversees their animal studies, which are performed at MUSC. Dr. Helke is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and has served the following professional organizations either as a member of the board of directors, committee chairman and/or officer: Southeastern Association for Laboratory Animal Science, American College of Veterinary Pathologists, Society for Toxicologic Pathology, and the Trident Veterinary Medical Association. Her publications and presentations are mainly in the areas of neuroscience and cancer, as well as pathology, with many collaborative publications with researchers in varied fields.
