Michael P. McKinley received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, and both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Arizona State University. In 1978, as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Medical School, he investigated prion-diseases. In 1980, he joined the anatomy faculty at the UCSF Medical School, where he taught medical histology and authored or co-authored more than 80 scientific papers. Joining the biology faculty at Glendale Community College from 1991 to 2012, Michael taught undergraduate anatomy and physiology, general biology, and genetics. Between 1991 and 2000, he researched Alzheimers disease while teaching developmental biology and human genetics at Arizona State University, West. His vast experience in histology, neuroanatomy, and cell biology greatly shaped the content in Anatomy and Physiology. Retiring from active teaching in 2012, he continues to be an active member of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS).

Valerie Dean O'Loughlin received her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary, and her Ph.D. in biological anthropology from Indiana University. She is an Associate Professor of Anatomy at Indiana University School of Medicine, where she teaches human gross anatomy to medical students, basic human anatomy to undergraduates, and human anatomy for medical imaging evaluation to undergraduate and graduate students. She also teaches a pedagogical methods course and mentors M.S. and Ph.D. students pursuing anatomy education research. She is active in the American Association of Anatomists (AAA) and the Society for Ultrasound in Medical Education (SUSME). She currently serves as President of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS). She received the AAA Basmajian Award for excellence in teaching gross anatomy and outstanding accomplishments in scholarship in education.