OLÁ, I'M DIOGO!
I'm a Lisbon-based medical illustrator and dataviz designer and consultant, with a background in Veterinary Medicine. My experience as a veterinarian and researcher highlighted the importance of effective Visual Scientific Communication through illustrations and graphs, and how poor the investment in this field still is.
My unique combination of scientific knowledge and illustration skills allows me to efficiently translate complex ideas into visually appealing and original medical graphics. I want to elevate the quality of veterinary and medical education, to better engage and educate difference audiences – from clinicians and researchers, to students and the general public.
SHORT RESUME
/ 2014–Present
Freelance medical illustrator
/ 2018–2021
Medical illustrator
/ 2014–2015
Medical illustrator
at the Graphic Department of the VetSuisse Faculty, Zürich, Switzerland
/ 2012–2014
at the Institute of Parasitology, VetSuisse Faculty, Zürich, Switzerland
/ 2006–2012
at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal
See my Visual CV
Click below
CLIENTS
I collaborate with researchers, companies and start-ups worldwide from a variety of fields –Animal Anatomy, Veterinary Education, Pet Health, Animal Science, Human Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Microbiology.
AWARDS & EXHIBITIONS
/ 2022 / Information is Beautiful Awards. Longlisted in the Category "Unsual" with the work "365 Days of Color and Dataviz". Awards organized by the Data Visualization Society. Read more here
▫ 2022 Zoobiquity Conference at the Portuguese Medical Association Headquarters in Lisbon (July);
▫ 2022 One Health Day Seminar at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – University of Lisbon (Nov);
▫ 2022 CIISA Congress at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – University of Lisbon (Nov).
/ 2019 / Innovation Award at Prémios Veterinária Atual 2019, organised by Veterinária Atual Magazine. Read news here
SELECTED CONFERENCES, SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS
/ 2024 / MASTERCLASS
"Illustration for Human and Veterinary Medicins", presented at the Postgraduate Programme in Scientific Illustration, organized by the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. More here
"How Science Visual Communication can help us disseminate knowledge on Wildlife Diseases?", presented at the 6th Leibniz-IZW PhD Symposium, organized by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research. More here
"Beyond the Bar Chart: Ten Tips to Visually Optimize Scientific Charts", online lecture as part of a monthly seminar organized by CEBAL - Centro de Biotecnologia Agricola e Agro-Alimentar do Alentejo. More here
"Out of the Box(Plot): Tips to Visually Improve Scientific Graphs", lecture as an invited speaker at the 2022 CIISA Congress. More here
"Off the Charts: How a Personal Project Fueled My Knowledge for Data Visualization", part of the 2022 Visual Scicomm Conference, organized by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. More here
"The Role of Comparative Anatomy in Medical Illustration", part of the 2022 Zoobiquity International Conference, hosted by the Portuguese Veterinarian Association and the Portuguese Medical Association. More here
/ 2022 / WORKSHOP
Data Visualisation and Design for Science Seminars, part of the II Scientific Writing and Communication in Conferences Workshop, organized by the Institute of Environmental Health – University of Lisbon. More here (in PT)
/ 2021 / WEBINAR
Medical Illustration and Veterinary Sciences Webinar, part of a Science Communication Webinar Cycle organized by the Portuguese Society of Veterinary Sciences. Watch webinar here (in PT)
/ 2021 / WORKSHOP
Illustration & Design for Science, for Biomedical Students; organized by the Portuguese Association of Biomedical Sciences.
/ 2019 / WEBINAR
Medical Writing Organization October Webinar, part of the Cheeky Scientist advanced program for PhDs interested in transitioning into medical writing. More here
/ 2016 / WORKSHOP
Illustration & Design for Science Workshop, for Veterinary Medicine students; organized by the Students' Association of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – University of Lisbon.
/ 2016 / SEMINAR
Out of the Box Seminar, “How to bring Art into a room full of scientists?” held at the João Lobo Antunes Institute of Molecular Medical in Lisbon (IMM).
Here are some moments when I had the pleasure to speak about my work and the world of medical art:
/ 2025 / The Veterinary Edge, veterinary medicine magazine, where I talked a bit about my role and path as a veterinarian-turned-medical illustrator. Read interview here (in EN)
/ 2023 / Veterinária Atual, veterinary medicine magazine featured my DataViz Project on Stray Animals in Portugal. Read article here (in PT)
/ 2023 / AVMA News – Three medical illustrators talk about their career paths, interview to the American Veterinary Medical Association news, discussing the field of Veterinary Medical Illustration. Read article here (in EN)
/ 2022 / STEM to the Sky Interview, a student-led organisation showcasing diverse careers & pathways in STEM, and empowering high school students. I got to speak a bit about my background and current work, and some views on the future of scicomm. Read or watch the interview here (in EN)
(in EN)
/ 2021 / Art the Science Blog, Canadian nonprofit SciArt organization showcasing the work of medical artists worldwide. Read interview here (in EN)
/ 2020 / I Love Veterinary, blog and website dedicated to all things Veterinary Medicine. Read interview here (in EN)
/ 2019 / Biocomm Hive (former Medical Art Digital Studio), Instagram collective of medical artists.
/ 2017 / Radio Latina, Portuguese radio station in Luxembourg, section "Portugal 21st Century".
/ 2017 / NOS Casos de Sucesso, from a series
of interviews on entrepreneurship and successful businesses in Portugal. Read interview here (in PT)
/ 2016 / Veterinária Atual, veterinary medicine magazine. Read interview here (in PT)
/ 2015 / Sciencemotionology, platform promoting
scientific animation, illustration and visual communication. Read interview here (in EN)
/ 2014 / P3 newspaper. Read interview here (in PT)
/ 2014 / Ciência 2.0, science communication platform developed the the University of Oporto. Read interview here (in PT)