Emily Green,

Anatomy Lecturer, Newcastle University

Career progression and development

I started my anatomy journey back in my undergraduate degree (Biomedical Science at the University of Sheffield), where I was lucky enough to carry out cadaveric dissection. This was the highlight of my three years of undergraduate study, and so I ended up remaining at Sheffield to complete an MSc in Human Anatomy with Education – and was also an anatomy demonstrator, teaching anatomy to the next cohort of biomed undergrads! Having completed my MSc and gained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, I went on to start my current role at Newcastle.

It was during my MSc that my interest in anatomical drawing began. I started an Instagram page to share my work (@aspiringanatomist), that at one stage reached over 35,000 followers!

Current anatomy-related stream

I’m now working as an anatomy lecturer, based in the School of Medical Education at Newcastle. My role mainly involves co-ordinating, developing and delivering teaching for the first two years of the MBBS programme, but I also lead an anatomy module for Sports & Exercise Science, and contribute to teaching of anatomy on several other programmes within the Faculty of Medical Sciences. It’s a very varied role, and I really enjoy getting to work with lots of different groups of students – although it can make learning names a challenge!

I’m really interested in finding ways to encourage students to incorporate drawing into their study more often. Students are often put off by using art as a learning tool if they don’t perceive themselves as ‘good’ at drawing. I’d really like to help students change that outlook as drawing can be so useful for learning anatomy. I’d also like to build my own portfolio of anatomical illustrations.

Career ‘top tips’

What I wish I’d known earlier… that a global pandemic was going to start within about 4 months of me starting my job?! In all seriousness, working through the pandemic really taught me the value of a healthy work-life balance. It can be challenging to achieve this when working in teaching, but I find that I’m much more productive (and happier) when I’m strict about taking time away from my desk. This is much harder when your desk is in your living room! But I think it’s the most important learning curve when you’re early in your career.

Dr Eiman Abdel Meguid,

Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, Queen’s University Belfast

I knew almost from the point at which I started a bachelor’s degree in medicine at Alexandria University that I was interested in teaching. As soon as I graduated, I worked as a demonstrator in Anatomy in Egypt. Consequently, it was a natural progression to move on to a MSc then PhD. My PhD thesis was performed at Eberhard Karl’s Universität, Tubingen. I worked on how to estimate stature from measurements of long bones. After completing my PhD, I had more time to devote to planning research into aspects of Surgical Anatomy. From there, I moved to a lectureship position at King Faisal University. I rapidly realised that effective teaching includes skills in communication, collaboration, adaptability, and exchange of best practice. I enjoyed teaching anatomy with respect to its clinical orientation to prepare students to be better clinicians. I took on roles in managing degree programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels as well as other administrative responsibilities out of interest in career progression. That provided a platform for promotion to Associate Professor then Full Professor in the Middle East.

Participating in conferences has led to publications but most significantly funded projects from Saudi Arabia. Along with interest in reward and recognition, I have worked on aspects of anatomy pedagogy. I have redesigned a high-quality engaging curriculum that enriches the students intellectually and support their progress. In 2014, I moved to UK and in my current role, I have been given the opportunity of developing more networks and pedagogic research within my own Institution as well as with colleagues in England, Ireland, Australia, and USA. Establishing collaborations with colleagues was just as important in building a career in teaching as it was in research.

I became a Senior Fellow of HE and was invited as a Visiting Scholar and Guest Speaker at Weill Cornell, NY. I was also asked to review a MSc Program by a Saudi University. I am currently the sole Anatomy Representative for the Risk Management Group at the Royal College of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland and a member of the Court of Examiners. I am also sitting on the Editorial Board of Ulster Medical Journal. I have an ongoing collaboration with colleagues in the USA, and Ireland. Currently, I am the Subject Lead for dental anatomy, the Unit lead for Musculoskeletal system II for medical students and Module Coordinator for MSc in Clinical Anatomy Programme.

Professor Stephen McHanwell

My career started at Newcastle University, where I graduated with a degree in physiology in 1975. I completed a PhD in Bristol in 1979, working in Tim Biscoe’s lab on motoneurone anatomy and development. I moved with Tim to UCL, spending two years there before securing an MRC French Exchange Fellowship in Nicole LeDouarin’s laboratory in Nogent-sur-Marne.

I returned to the UK in 1983 to Newcastle University to take up a lectureship in Anatomy. Though much of my research up to that point had been anatomical, it was mainly in histology and developmental biology. I had no experience in human gross anatomy and so had a steep learning curve to travel before I was able confidently to teach in the dissecting room.

Though I continued with a research programme, I gradually found myself gravitating towards teaching and teaching leadership. Following a series of university reorganisations and then a major restructuring of the university in 2001–02, I moved from anatomy via neuroscience into the dental school, teaching their anatomy programmes across all five years of the course and leading the first two years of the dental programme.

Prior to this, I had been elected to AS Council and shortly thereafter was invited to take up the post of Honorary Education Officer—a position I held for a full three terms. It was a good time to take up this post. I was responsible for overseeing education sessions at the twice-yearly meetings, ensuring an active programme of events.

It was during this period, working with my colleagues on the Education Committee, that the first iteration of the AS Core syllabus in anatomy was brought into being and which we were able to present at a joint meeting of ASGBI and SAE in Madrid in 2006. This work, together with teaching leadership in Newcastle, with AS, and in the newly formed European TEPARG group, formed the foundation of successful applications for a National Teaching Fellowship and a personal chair in 2007.

Joining the NTF network was the stimulus for developing other projects—this time not in anatomy but on reward and recognition of teaching within Newcastle, and also nationally and internationally.

There have been two key things that have contributed to what success I have had in my career. Being active in the professional networks of AS and then NTF led to some of my most successful professional activities. Many of those projects arose serendipitously in ways I had not foreseen. I think it is important, especially at the start of an academic career, to network internally and externally, be active in those networks, and be open to grasp opportunities that arise unexpectedly.

After 40 years in HE, I retired from Newcastle in 2020 as Emeritus Professor (weeks before the first lockdown), though I continue with a number of professional activities—teaching, examining, and writing.

Dr. Claire Conway,

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Strategic Academic Recruitment (StAR) Research Lecturer in Anatomy

I joined the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in January of 2020 as a StAR Research Lecturer in Anatomy. My path to the Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine in RCSI was far from traditional. Passionate about maths and physics, I graduated first in my class of Mechanical Engineering in NUI Galway. Embarking on a research career appeared a natural step. My subsequent scholarship and PhD in Biomedical Engineering in NUI Galway, focused on using mathematical modelling to assess coronary stent implantation in a suite of arterial populations. I published recommendations for the United States’ medical device regulatory body, the FDA, on how to better simulate arterial environs in silico. In 2013, I was awarded an international fellowship in collaboration with the FDA to work with cardiologist Prof Elazer Edelman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to examine the complex clinical issue of stent fracture using a complementary mix of mathematical modelling, mechanical testing, and animal studies.

My four-year fellowship in MIT exposed me to new techniques, inspiring ideas, and a diverse range of sciences. My research interests expanded to include valvular prosthesis assessment accounting for dynamic cardiac conditions, considering both acute and chronic performance, and fundamentally accounting for pathological environs.

I returned to Ireland with a fixed-term lectureship in Biomedical Engineering in NUI Galway. I then secured a lectureship in Aston University in the UK in Biomedical Engineering. However, the Emerald Isle called with an opportunity I couldn’t resist.

This position offered an exciting new training through the Anatomical Society’s Anatomy Training Programme giving me the ability to teach Anatomy and would add a new perspective to my cardiovascular research. The supports to expand my research team, access to clinical colleagues, and multi-disciplinary research in Tissue Engineering Research Group made the decision to join simple.

The mechanics of soft tissue is complex but getting to handle physical specimens brings profound insight and using mathematical modelling as a digital reanimation tool for 3D cardiac structures will, I hope, add significant value to the anatomical sciences and the medical device community at large.

Reflecting on my career to date, I would ultimately say follow your interests, don’t be afraid of a challenge, and keep an open mind as to career options. A curious mind will always ask many questions and asking others what’s the most interesting part of their work can garner fascinating insights but also offer a glimpse of what a new door opens.

Danya Stone

Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Lecturer in Anatomy

I am currently employed as a teaching focussed lecturer at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS). My journey teaching anatomy began when I applied for a master’s degree course in Human Anatomy and Education at the University of Sheffield in 2017. At this time, I had just completed an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Genetics and therefore had not experienced any anatomy teaching previously. However, I had always had an interest in human anatomy and wanted to dedicate a year to exploring the subject.

During my master’s degree, I learned anatomy through human cadaveric dissection, while concurrently teaching anatomy to undergraduate biomedical science students. Teaching anatomy to undergraduate students while also exploring the scholarship of learning and teaching led me to the realisation that I thoroughly enjoyed teaching and wanted to pursue this as a career. Following my master’s programme, I successfully applied to be an anatomy demonstrator at Trinity College Dublin, therefore moved to Dublin.

After a year at Trinity College Dublin, I was offered the role of anatomy lecturer at BSMS. Since beginning my role at BSMS, I have continued to contribute to the delivery of anatomy teaching across all modules and am subject lead for anatomy of the thorax. Since joining BSMS I have completed a postgraduate medical education course and I am now completing a part-time PhD exploring the emotions that students experience when entering into the human dissection room for the first time.

Before I began studying anatomy, I was unaware of the career opportunities that were possible within this area. For me, this was teaching - a career I never believed I was suited to before being immersed in it. Through teaching, my confidence in public speaking began to grow, and I am now able to stand at the front of a lecture theatre filled with 200 students with very little anxiety. This experience has convinced me that anyone can develop the confidence in public speaking that is required to teach, and I would encourage anyone to experience teaching before deciding it is not for them. I have also discovered that the anatomy community is particularly supportive, and I would encourage others early in their career to make the most of attending conferences and use other networking opportunities getting to know other anatomy academics.

Andy Sanderson

Lecturer in Muscle Physiology/Biomechanics, Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University

I am based within the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences at MMU and so I work in the functional area of anatomy. In my job I teach Anatomy to Sport and Exercise Sciences and Sport and Health Sciences students, which means that I have a strong musculoskeletal anatomy teaching focus. I’m often talking about how movements are produced, considerations for biarticular muscles, biomechanics of the limbs and joint structures. Alongside this I use non-invasive techniques like electromyography and motion analysis to research how chronic pain affects the way we use our muscles. I hope that my research will identify differences in the way individuals with chronic pain create contractions, which can be used to develop optimised rehabilitation for the likes of chronic low back pain or chronic knee pain.

My career is just beginning but it has been very interdisciplinary already, which has helped me to understand how these areas can work best together. I completed my undergraduate degree in Anatomical Sciences at the University of Dundee and then after a few months travelling I started my PhD at the University of Birmingham. In Birmingham I worked with a team of physiotherapists who were investigating spinal pain from a variety of perspectives, my research was on muscle activity and chronic low back pain. While doing my PhD I also started to teach anatomy to anybody who would listen! This meant that I taught a range of students from Sport and Exercise Sciences to Physiotherapy to Medical students. The combined skills this gave me with my research allowed me to start my job at Manchester Metropolitan University after finishing my PhD.

My top tip for a career in anatomy is that anatomy isn’t just in the dissecting room! When I started to move away from pure anatomy, I was worried that I would stop being an anatomist. But in reality I still work with anatomy every day by investigating how muscles function in people with pain and my first publication was in the Journal of Anatomy! Anatomical function underlies chronic pain conditions and my background in anatomy guides my work, alongside input from other scientists and clinicians.

Dr Marcela Bezdickova,

Associate Professor in Anatomy, Swansea University, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Current anatomy-related stream: Teaching

I have been fascinated by nature since childhood and consequently I studied Biology and Physical Education at Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic. I undertook a PhD at the same institution with focus on Functional Anatomy and Physiology. I gained my first teaching experience during my PhD as a demonstrator in practical sessions on Functional Anatomy. It was my “trigger point” as I thoroughly enjoy exploring human anatomy and teaching. After completing my PhD, I was appointed as Anatomy Lecturer at Palacky University Olomouc. I have started lecturing gross anatomy to the medical and dentistry students and my experience grew when I was appointed as a leader of international programme in General Medicine and Dentistry and as a coordinator of Erasmus students exchange program for medical students. This was additional experience on Medical Education and Anatomy teaching worldwide. As a lead of Partnership network of Clinical Anatomy and Emergency I completed Plastination workshop delivered by Biodur Company which attracted me more into the dissection and detailed anatomy of cadavers.

In 2015 I took up a position at the Swansea University as a Lecturer in Anatomy and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2020. Currently, I participate on teaching in various programmes - Graduate Entry Medicine Programme, Physician Associate and other undergraduate master programs. I am a module lead for Anatomy of BSc Applied Medical Science Programme and a supervisor of final year educational research projects of undergraduate and graduate students.

I am passionate about Anatomy and I popularize it during public events organised by Swansea University such as the Family fun day, Summer School, Webinars Series. I organize Dissection CPD course or collaborate with Swansea City FC physiotherapists. I believe that invaluable student experience in Anatomy is in ‘learning by doing’. Therefore, I have established extremely popular Extracurricular Dissection Courses for medical students twice per academic year since 2015. In 2020 I was nominated for the BMJ/BMA Award Clinical Teacher of the year 2020 for Wales and that encouraged me to continue working hard.

I have been teaching Anatomy for more than 20 years at a various level and in different Higher Education systems. HE in UK was different and challenging for me and I have learnt that to update knowledge in Anatomy subject is as important as finding new ways of engaging students. There is always something more to learn.

Dr Juliette Hughes

Lecturer in Anatomy, Medical School, Edge Hill University

My anatomy journey started in 2012 with a BSc Anatomy and Human Biology at the University of Liverpool, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Like many people in the final year of their undergraduate degree, I was entirely unsure about what to do next. The uncertainty led me to extend my undergraduate degree by adding a 4th year to complete an integrated Master’s of Biological Science, which included an incredible 6-week research internship at Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok, Thailand) and an anatomical research project using MRI scans to investigate masticatory muscle size and age. After graduation I spent 3 months as a Medical Lab Assistant in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry (Royal Liverpool University Hospital).

I then secured a PhD studentship at the University of Liverpool (Nov 2016), studying a rare metabolic connective tissue disorder called Alkaptonuria. My PhD was entirely lab based and included in vivo mouse work, histology, mass spectrometry and a little bit of molecular biology. Alongside my PhD I gained teaching experience as a casual anatomy demonstrator at the University of Liverpool. At the end of my 3-year PhD, I transitioned to a post-doc position in the same research group to continue my alkaptonuria research (December 2019 – December 2020). During this year, I submitted my PhD thesis and passed my viva in September 2020. I also completed a short course and portfolio to become an Associate Fellow of the HEA (June 2020), during which I gave my first 2 anatomy lectures; one to second year dental students and the other to first year anatomy students.

In January 2021, I began my first teaching post as a Lecturer of Anatomy at Edge Hill University, where I teach anatomy to Physician Associate and medical students. When I applied for the anatomy lectureship, I was still in two minds about whether to pursue a full research career by continuing with post-doc research/fellowship applications or whether to move into anatomy teaching. I choose anatomy teaching but still have a strong passion for research and hope to build a research profile as an Early Career Researcher at Edge Hill.

I am the first person to go to university in my family and also a woman in science. I would never have predicted or foreseen when studying my A-levels, or even my degree, that I would one day obtain a PhD or become a lecturer. Anything is possible when you put your mind to it.