The artist sought to create a portrait of the dramatic moment the death grip of a Natural Killer T cell overcomes a cancer cell's defenses, memorializing a moment humanity desires. Cytotoxic Natural Killer T cells are cancer assassins that induce cancer cells to undergo programmed cell death known as apoptosis. Natural Killer T cells recognize specific sites on the surface of cancer cells called antigens, bind to them, and release biochemical proteins that form pores in the cancer cell's membrane and specifically induce the cancer cell to destruct.

Cynthia Turner is a certified medical illustrator and a Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators. Her work focuses on the visual needs of the pharmaceutical and biotech research industry for their investor and advertising markets, including large scale illustrations for medical conference exhibitions and event and print collateral. She is known for creating striking visuals with clarity of message. Cynthia is the recipient of the 2014 Brödel Award for Excellence in Education for outstanding educational contributions to the profession of medical illustration and the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award whose extraordinary lifelong contributions to the advancements of medical illustration and scientific knowledge have set the highest standards of the profession and served as an inspiration to others in the field.

High-impact visual science problem solving requires not only technical understanding of the subject, but imagination, insight, aesthetics, scientific integrity, sophisticated design and a uniquely original viewpoint. Cynthia Turner creates original images for the pharmaceutical, biomedical technology and healthcare industries. She specializes in synthesizing complex information into accurate visual science with clarity and visual impact. Cynthia is a certified medical illustrator and a Fellow of the Association of Medical Illustrators. Her work focuses on the visual needs of the pharmaceutical and biotech research for their investor and advertising markets, including large scale illustrations for medical conference exhibitions and event and print collateral. She is known for creating striking visuals with clarity of message.