Founder's Story
BIO | VIROLOGY | FILM & EDU MEDIA | OWL ANATOMY | AWARDS
Discoveries Brought to Life, LLC was founded by award-winning director and producer of biomedical media Fabian de Kok-Mercado MA, CMI, FAMI.
His work has appeared in a myriad of publications, films, and interactive media and has been recognized by organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Notably, he is a three-time NSF International Visualization Challenge winner, has received over thirty awards from the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) and Biocommunications Association (BCA) combined, and is an Emmy® and Webby® nominee.
Fabian is an Adjunct Assistant Professor within the Medical and Biological Illustration Graduate Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he co-instructs a course on Molecular and Cellular Visualization.
He has spent decades collaborating with visionaries in science and medicine across the globe, including Nobel Laureates. Highlights of these experiences are provided:
VISUALIZATION OF VIRAL MECHANISMS AT NIH
Fabian gained invaluable experience collaborating with world-renowned virology researchers at the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he co-authored and illustrated a series of high-impact peer-reviewed scientific publications. This full-time position as Medical Illustrator and Lead Designer involved working within a newly minted BSL-4 research lab to develop 3D visualizations of viral particles within complex microenvironments based on molecular data. A synopsis of the lab he worked in can be seen in an open access article he co-authored and visualized for the Journal of the American Biological Safety Association.
CREATIVE DIRECTION FOR FILM & EDUCATIONAL MEDIA
Prior to founding Discoveries Brought to Lifesm, Fabian was Creative Director of the Department of Science Education at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) where he led the production and development of a series of award-winning projects. He directed and managed the production of science and medical visualization media including animations for film and interactive media for BioInteractive and a series of Tangled Bank Studios productions. BioInteractive focuses on bringing the power of real science stories into tens of thousands of high school and undergraduate life science classrooms. Tangled Bank Studios is a production company dedicated to crafting compelling, immersive films about science and scientists. During his time at HHMI he received many awards for his animation, interactive, and illustration work. A few highlights are provided:
Coral Bleaching: A Breakdown of Symbiosis was a featured film at the Imagine Science Film Festival at Google Headquarters in New York, won the Expert’s and People’s choice awards in the NSF Visualization Challenge, a Best of Motion Media Award from the BCA, an Award of Excellence from the AMI and BCA, and a bronze Telly Award.
Notable interactive media include Virus Explorer and CRISPR-Cas9: Mechanism & Applications both of which received Best of Show and Medical Education awards from the BCA, and Awards of Excellence from the AMI and BCA. CRISPR-Cas9: Mechanism & Applications was also a Webby Nominee.
Fabian was honored with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Graphic Design & Art Direction for his contribution to the animations in Tangled Bank Studios’ film Spillover. See awards list at the bottom of this page for a comprehensive look at all the accolades he received during his tenure at HHMI.
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR VISUAL COMMUNICATION OF OWL ADAPTATIONS
Fabian’s thesis research for his Master’s in Medical and Biological illustration from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine involved an intricate study of the morphologic adaptions of owl neck neurovascular anatomy.
Fabian’s research received international acclaim and was featured by David Attenborough in the second season of BBC’s Natural Curiosities Series. News outlets and publications across the globe, including Science Magazine, BBC World News, NPR, Science Friday, Le Monde and Smithsonian Magazine, featured interviews regarding his research and visualizations. Flora Lichtman’s interview and synopsis on Science Friday tells the story beautifully.
His visualizations of owl vasculature anatomy were recognized by the National Science Foundation, the Vesalius Trust for Visual Communication in the Health Sciences, and the Association of Medical Illustrators.
DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY
Fabian has served as a contractor for a wide range of clientele in broadcast media, medical device development, educational products, and neuro-anatomical research. His history of impactful and award-winning visual storytelling in the fields of science and medicine bring a broad, unique, and relevant perspective to Discoveries Brought to Lifesm.
A HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
LIST OF AWARDS & HONORS
- 2019 Best of Show, BioCommunications Association, Interactive Media
- 2019 Medical Education Award, BioCommunications Association, Interactive Media
- 2019 Award of Excellence, BioCommunications Association, Interactive Media
- 2019 Warren Sturges Best of Motion Media Award, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media
- 2019 Award of Excellence, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media
- 2019 Webby Nominee, 23rd Annual Webby Awards, Science Website
- 2018 Award of Excellence, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media
- 2018 Visualization Award, Jackson Hole Science Media Awards, Craft Category
- 2018 Medical Education Award, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media
- 2018 Award of Excellence, Association of Medical Illustrators, Interactive Media
- 2018 Award of Excellence, Association of Medical Illustrators, Animation
- 2018 Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators, Association of Medical Illustrators
- 2017 Emmy Award Nomination, The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction
- 2017 Award of Excellence, Association of Medical Illustrators, Interactive Media
- 2017 Featured Film Spotlight, Labocine.com, Imagine Science Films
- 2017 Best of Show, BioCommunications Association, Interactive Media
- 2017 Medical Education Award, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media
- 2017 Award of Excellence, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media – Interactive
- 2017 Finalist, National Science Foundation and Popular Science Visualization Challenge (Vizzies), Interactive
- 2017 Finalist, National Science Foundation and Popular Science Visualization Challenge (Vizzies), Video
- 2016 Expert’s Choice, National Science Foundation and Popular Science Visualization Challenge (Vizzies), Video
- 2016 People’s Choice, National Science Foundation and Popular Science Visualization Challenge (Vizzies), Video
- 2015 Featured Film, Imagine Science Film Festival at Google Headquarters, New York
- 2015 Warren Sturgis Motion Media Best of Show, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media
- 2015 Award of Excellence, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media
- 2015 Award of Excellence, Association of Medical Illustrators, Animation
- 2015 Bronze Award, 36th Annual Telly Awards, Animation
- 2014 Medical Education Award, BioCommunications Association, Motion Media
- 2014 Award of Merit, BioCommunications Association, Poster
- 2014 Award of Merit, Association of Medical Illustrators, Still Media
- 2014 Research highlighted in David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities, Series 2, ‘Life in the Dark’ Eden & Humble Bee Films
- 2013 Finalist, International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, Information Poster and Graphics, Science Magazine and National Science Foundation
- 2013 Citation of Merit, BioCommunications Association, Medical Illustration
- 2013 Award of Excellence, Association of Medical Illustrators Annual Salon, Interactive Media Category
- 2013 Certificate of Excellence, Illustrators Club of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia (IC) 16th Juried Exhibition, Medical and Scientific Category
- 2013 Certificate of Excellence, Illustrators Club of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia (IC) 16th Juried Exhibition, Medical and Scientific Category
- 2012 First Place Award, International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, Information Poster and Graphics, Science Magazine and National Science Foundation. Featured on International Media, BBC World News, NPR, Science Friday, Le Monde, Johns Hopkins, Science Daily, Smithsonian Magazine, io9
- 2012 Finalist, International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, Information Poster and Graphics, Science Magazine and National Science Foundation
- 2012 Customer Success Award, Battelle Memorial Institute
- 2012 Award of Merit, Association of Medical Illustrators, Instructional Color Category
- 2012 People’s Choice Award, International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, Information Poster and Graphics, Science Magazine and National Science Foundation
- 2011 Medical Education Award, BioCommunications Association, Medical Illustration
- 2011 Award of Merit, Association of Medical Illustrators, Instructional Color Category
- 2011 Citation of Merit, BioCommunications Association, Medical Illustration
- 2010 Outstanding Performance Award, Battelle Memorial Institute
- 2010 Certificate of Excellence, Illustrators Club of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia (IC) 15th Juried Exhibition, Medical and Scientific Category
- 2010 Silver Medal, Illustrators Club of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia (IC) 15th Juried Exhibition, Medical and Scientific Category
- 2010 Certificate of Excellence, Illustrators Club of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia (IC) 15th Juried Exhibition, Technical Category
- 2009 Award of Merit, Association of Medical Illustrators, Instructional Color Category
- 2008 Award of Excellence, Association of Medical Illustrators Annual Salon, Instructional Color Category
- 2008 Orville Parkes Best of Show Award, Association of Medical Illustrators
- 2008 Vesalius Trust Poster Session Award, Association of Medical Illustrators
- 2007 Alan Cole Research Grant, Vesalius Trust for Visual Communication in the Health Sciences
- 2007 Award of Excellence, Association of Medical Illustrators Annual Salon, Instructional Tone Category
- 2007 The Chester Reather Award, for innovative use of digital imaging, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- 2006 First Place Award, People’s Choice Competition, Mid-Atlantic Biocommunicators Conference
Your audience will learn and retain more information when visualizations are added to your written material. Not only because visualizations are increasingly given major responsibility for presenting explanations, but because research shows that your audience will learn better from words and visuals than from words alone. Let’s collaborate to bring your discoveries to life!
Contact us
PHONE
443.355.6727
ADDRESS
Discoveries Brought to Life
4725 Dorsey Hall Drive
Suite A 806
Ellicott City, MD 21042