My name is Rok Humar

and I am a Swiss-Slovenian citizen. I am a biomedical researcher with over 20 years of experience as Senior Scientist and Group Leader in Preclinical Research at the Universities of Basel and Zurich in Switzerland (h-index 22 with 1700 citations as of 2024). I hold a PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Basel, and have broad knowledge in intracellular signalling, cardiovascular and cancer biology.

From a young age, I nurtured a passion for sketching and drawing, supported by my teachers who also were renowned artists such as Helmut Etter and Pierre Kocher.

Throughout my biomedical research journey, I complemented my studies and presentations with hand-drawn illustrations, gaining recognition for my unique and pleasant style from my professors and peers.

Over the past decade, I have merged this passion with my professional research expertise by venturing into scientific illustration and visualization, primarily in academic research contexts.

I work for the University of Zurich at primelab.ch in Preclinical Research Organization and Scientific Visualization in Cancer Biology, Inflammation, and Hematology.

“I have worked with Rok on several interdisciplinary projects. I know him as scientist and graphic designer and always appreciated his creativity and thoroughness in both roles. His profound biological background knowledge enables him to summarize novel concepts very clearly in eye-catching graphics. Do not hesitate to contact Rok and let him help to promote your research!”

Michael Hugelshofer, PD Dr. med MSc

Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Mannheim,

Germany

“Conveying our scientific work is greatly enhanced through illustration of scientific concepts. Dr. Rok Humar’s illustrations integrate his unique understating of scientific processes and artistic skills. We are extremely pleased with his illustrations supporting visual concepts in original research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Molecular Pharmaceutics.  His illustrations are invaluable in support of our review articles published in Trends in Molecular Medicine, Blood and Anesthesiology. We are also extremely impressed with his creativity in cover art preparation, which is second to none. His efforts have prompted interest from leading scientists contacting me about the source of illustrations appearing in our papers.”

Paul W Buehler, PharmD, PhD, Professor of Pathology,

The University of Maryland School of Medicine, Center for Blood Oxygen transport and Hemostasis

USA

“Rok Humar is a biologist with an impressive understanding of complex biological processes and a unique talent for artistic illustration. His ability to translate scientific concepts into visually compelling art is exceptional. Rok's insightful suggestions and creativity have greatly enhanced our scientific communication efforts. His illustrations have played a crucial role in visualizing our research in prestigious journals like Blood, the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Anesthesiology, Stroke, and others. Rok's artwork not only captures the essence of scientific discoveries but also elevates the impact of our publications, including cover art that has attracted attention and praise from leading scientists. We value Rok's contributions immensely and are grateful for his expertise in merging scientific accuracy with artistic excellence.”

Dominik Schaer, Professor of Medicine, Vice Dean for Medical Education

University of Zurich

Switzerland

“I am indebted to Rok for his help with scientific illustrations. Despite access to desktop and web-based modular scientific illustration software, nothing surpasses custom-made illustrations, especially for complex applications. Rok has the combined strengths of being both a scientist and artist. In addition he is a great team-player and fun to work with. He has produced what we had in mind each time, conveying key messages with clarity, at an artistic level much higher than ever expected. You will work with someone who will listen to what you need, work from a position of understanding the underlying scientific concepts, and produce illustrations which keep on attracting compliments from peers, reviewers, journal editors  and the public. This is mastery of art for the purposes of science.”

Ian Galea, Professor of Clinical & Experimental Neurology

Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical & Experimental Sciences Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton,

United Kingdom

Institutions I worked with:

Where my work was published: