Full Schedule

This 4-hour pre-conference workshop will incorporate hands-on ultrasound (US) anatomy education through guided practice on three body regions and discussion focused on implementing US into health professions education curricula. Dr. Sally Graglia, MD, MPH, serves as the Director of Medical Student Ultrasound Education at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Graglia will deliver brief didactic instructions and demonstrations before each scanning session to highlight the proper technique and the anatomical structures that attendees can expect to visualize. After each regional introduction, participants will break into groups and practice scanning on volunteers for approximately 45 minutes. The scanning regions will include: 1) Neck and Upper Limb; 2) Thorax; 3) Abdomen and Lower Limb. Drs. Harmon, Norris, and Zarenko have incorporated US into their institutions’ curricula as well as published studies focused on US education. Following each period of hands-on ultrasound use, they will discuss their curricular and scholarship experiences with ultrasound and tips that attendees may want to use at their home institution.

Whether you are a novice or a seasoned educator, this collaborative learning experience is designed to empower you with practical strategies for active learning. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll spend most of your time exploring active learning activities and working with facilitators to incorporate active learning techniques into a topic/session of your choice that you can seamlessly integrate into their own teaching. Our workshop goal is for every participant to leave with at least one “actionable” change that enhances their current teaching practice.

This workshop will delineate the mechanics of serious games and  equip participants with a simple framework to develop an educational game focused on an anatomical discipline for a specific educational level.

Co-sponsored by the Society for Craniofacial Genetics and Developmental Biology (SCGDB)
This symposium will address current issues in understanding the developmental events that occur during craniofacial morphogenesis and how perturbation of these events leads to human facial dysmorphologies. This topic is relevant to human health, as facial differences are some of the most frequently observed among human birth difference syndromes. More importantly, while current research often utilizes model systems to understand the molecular and cellular events in facial development, too often results from one model system are used to draw conclusions on all human or model systems. The three speakers chosen utilize multiple model systems in their work, comparing the outcomes of one model system with that of another to better understand the evolutionary conservation of developmental processes and to identify those processes that are most crucial for facial development.

This session is an Educational Platform session organized by the Educational Affairs Committee. The speakers submitted highly scoring educational research abstracts. Join the session to learn more about the educational research projects completed by our members!

Pick and Probe: Focused Conversations Across Anatomy
This Lunch and Learn features focused, small group discussions on topics related to anatomy. A table host will guide and moderate the focused discussion among colleagues. A broad range of topics have been selected: we hope you will find a discussion you are interested in joining, no matter how your work connects with anatomy. In case you don’t see a topic that interests you, we will have a few tables open for impromptu discussion. The goal of these focused, small group exchanges is to gain further insight, foster networking, community building, and help spur future collaboration and innovation. Come join us, to pick and probe into a topic together!

Note: Lunch will not be served at this session. Feel free to bring your own. 

Topics Include:

• Tips & Tricks- CV: Jeremy Grachan
• Tips and Tricks-Writing Letters of Recommendation: Danielle Bentley & Charys Martin
• Anatomy Lab Management: Brandi Schmitt & Robert Hill
• Willed Body Donor Programs Management: Laura Johnson
• Transitioning From Scientific to Educational Research: Kathy Moore
• Graduate Program Leaders Brainstorm: Jeannine Foley 
• Grad Student Stage: Lauren Easterling
• Postdoc Stage: Soma Dash
• Lecturer Stage: Mikaela Stiver
• Assistant Professor Stage: Andrew Cale
• Associate Professor Stage: Rebecca Lufler
• Full Professor Stage: Rebecca Pratt
• Open-Source resources in Research: Kristy Cheung
• Managing Accommodations and Accessibility: Michele Barbeau
• Jay Mussel: Open Table
• James Proffitt: Open Table

Join us to explore practical use cases and best practices for incorporating XR technology into anatomy education. We will showcase how the VH Dissector XR enhances group learning by enabling students to interact with digital cadavers, cross-sectional anatomy, and high-resolution 3D scanned prosections—all seamlessly integrated with a learning management system. See how this innovative workflow bridges the gap between lectures, labs, and clinical practice, fostering a deeper understanding of anatomy in an engaging, collaborative environment.

All AAA Members are encouraged to attend.

 
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The ability to regenerate a new limb after amputation or heal a wound without generating a fibrotic scar would revolutionize human health. This session focuses on new and inventive research approaches led by innovative scientists with expertise in regenerative biology. This session will focus on how regeneration occurs at multiple length scales using a wide range of model systems including digit tip regeneration, extracellular matrix remodeling, and reproductive cell regeneration. Speakers include experts in extracellular matrix (sub-micron scale), cell and tissue biology (micron scale), and whole organism scale (mm/cm scale). The emergence of new technologies to study regenerative biology, such as high-resolution imaging and multiomics approaches, are constantly evolving, and research led by the selected speakers are on the cutting edge of these emerging technologies.

Provide a concise overview of Pathtraker’s donor management capabilities, alignment with AAA best practices, and new expanded features, including PathStand Mobile, Curriculum functionality, and Scimedico’s role as - SPOT’s North American distributor.

Dutch universities have revolutionized the traditional dissection room with Enatom. This platform provides access to over 100 highly detailed, photogrammetry-based 3D scans of real human bodies, accessible on many devices including VR/AR. 

Mr. Yourik van Overloop, anatomy teacher at the Amsterdam University Medical Centre (The Netherlands) will explain how these universities have created a "smart" dissection room that enhances student engagement and improves the learning experience and learning outcomes.

This film follows a group of individuals who donate their bodies to the University of Otago Medical School for students to dissect. The donors and students gave permission to follow their amazing journey. The donors are interviewed while they are still alive. The viewers are there when the students meet the deceased donor for the first time, when they make their first cut, and when they say their final goodbyes. It might sound morbid, but this documentary is anything but... it is funny, moving and life affirming.  https://vimeo.com/ondemand/donatedtoscience/

Please join your AAA colleagues as we watch this documentary and then comment on its place in a discussion about public engagement with anatomy.  We look forward to seeing you there.

This session is an Educational Platform session organized by the Educational Affairs Committee. The speakers submitted highly scoring educational research abstracts. Join the session to learn more about the educational research projects completed by our members!

Keen on teeth? In the theme of Anatomical Horizons: Broadening Our Perspectives, this two-part session showcases cutting-edge research about tissue interactions between developing teeth and jaws, for colleagues interested in this part of the head from a broad range of disciplines (e.g., clinical anatomy, functional morphology, osteology, palaeontology). Our session on the dental follicular-alveolar complex begins with a 90 minute 3-speaker Podium Symposium and concludes with a 90-minute Roundtable Discussion including poster lightning talks. Join us to learn about and discuss targeted questions and knowledge gaps about the developmental biology of not simply the tooth but also the structures and functions of (peri)follicular cells and tissues. Our goal is to stimulate conversation and debate about dentofacial variation from diverse perspectives. All are welcome to both sessions! Co-chairs (JC Boughner, VB DeLeon, TD Smith) will facilitate the Roundtable session. Co-sponsored by Developmental Dynamics.

This symposium addresses the critical need that universities with multiple campuses have for standardizing learning objectives and assessments for anatomy curricula across diverse educational settings. With the guidance of Barbara Barzansky, LCME Director for Undergraduate Medical Education, participants will learn the expectations set by the LCME for ensuring that anatomy education is consistent and equitable, regardless of campus location. This session will also include anatomy curriculum directors from universities with multiple campuses to share their strategies and challenges, enriching the professional development of all attendees.

Co-chairs (Boughner, DeLeon, Smith) will facilitate the Roundtable session. The first 30 minutes of the Roundtable will include 3-minute lightning talks for posters, which will be solicited from a range of labs studying this topic across diverse taxa (e.g., fish, reptiles, mammals). The remaining 60 minutes of the Roundtable will feature discussion, guided by a few targeted but open-ended questions posed to the group.

Let’s Talk about Sex and Gender in the Anatomical Sciences: Current Practices, Barriers, and Goals
Facilitators: Ellis Locke (Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine), Edgar Meyer (University of Mississippi Medical Center), Theodore Smith (Touro University – California College of Osteopathic Medicine) 

In this session, we open a discussion about the impact of these materials on the current state of how sex and gender are conceptualized and presented in the anatomical sciences, from teaching practices to research frameworks to willed body donation programs. We focus on three questions: 1) how do anatomists, anatomy educators, and researchers currently present sex and gender in their work?; 2) what barriers to implementing more inclusive practices regarding sex and gender do anatomists, anatomy educators, and researchers currently encounter?; and 3) how can AAA provide organizational support to members in their teaching, research, and/or anatomical gift/willed body donation programmatic goals pertaining to sex and gender?    

The objective of this session is not to present a set of standards, but to start a conversation about current practices and needs of our colleagues regarding sex and gender in the classroom, the lab, and beyond. 

Box lunch is available to the first 60 attendees. First come, first serve. 

This 60-minute presentation introduces Pathtraker, a comprehensive donor management system designed to enhance compliance, security, and operational efficiency for anatomic gift programs and medical schools. The session covers Pathtraker’s core features, including donor record management, HIPAA-compliant data handling, real-time location tracking, disarticulation tracking, and automated compliance reporting.
A key focus is Pathtraker’s alignment with AAA Donor Management Best Practices, demonstrating how the platform ensures ethical donor tracking, chain of custody management, and regulatory compliance.
Additionally, the session highlights new expanded capabilities, including:
•	PathStand Mobile for real-time donor tracking and accessibility,
•	The launch of Curriculum Functionality to support donor program education, and
•	Scimedico’s role as the North American distributor for SPOT Imaging, expanding service and product availability.
The demo concludes with an extended Q&A session, allowing participants to explore Pathtraker’s impact on their institutions and discuss implementation opportunities.

This session is an Educational Platform session organized by the Educational Affairs Committee. The speakers submitted highly scoring educational research abstracts. Join the session to learn more about the educational research projects completed by our members!

Temporal fenestrae (TFs) – openings in the skull of most amniotes - are key characters in the broad classification of amniotes into synapsid or euryapsid (one TF), diapsid (two TFs) and anapsid (no TF) lineages. Extant Sauropsida (everything but synapsid mammals) are comprised of diapsid lizards (and snakes), crocodylians and birds, as well as secondarily anapsid turtles. But the larger clade also includes extinct stem amniotes which may not neatly fall into any of the extant categories, such as anapsid captorhinids and euryapsid ichthyosaurs. The morphologic diversity of TFs – their size, shape and bony margins – is well described in crown and stem sauropsids, but the selective pressures behind the origin and loss of TFs are hotly debated, as is their function. This symposium brings together scientists whose research interests focus on TFs in living animals but who investigate them via different disciplinary lens: comparative anatomy, development and physiology. The symposium aims to shine a spotlight on the evolutionary pressures which shaped TFs, the developmental mechanisms which contributed to TF loss, and the potential function(s) of TFs.

This symposium explores the critical issue of power dynamics within academic relationships, with a particular focus on the abuse that can occur between mentors and mentees. Historically shrouded in silence, these abuses may manifest as intellectual theft, coercion, bullying, discrimination, exploitation, and emotional manipulation, all of which can significantly impact the academic and personal lives of those involved. 

The trauma caused by abusive academic relationships can result in severe mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and suicidality. In the field of anatomical sciences research and education, the integrity of mentorship is essential for promoting innovation and ethical research practices. Effective teaching and professional development also depend greatly on healthy mentor-mentee relationships, as they are fundamental to knowledge transfer, career advancement, and the development of future leaders in academia.

This session aims to instill vigilance, encourage proactive engagement among members to question and reform systems that perpetuate academic abuse, and provide a supportive environment for survivors. Through these collective efforts, we ultimately aspire to promote greater inclusivity and safety within our association, field, and educational institutions.

We begin the presentations with Dr. Zoe Ross-Nash, PsyD, who will examine how the hierarchical culture and power differentials within academia enable abuse and discuss the clinical psychology that promotes post-traumatic resilience after abuse in academia. 

Next, Dr. Carlos Tarin, PhD, will explore patterns of misconduct in higher education with a focus on how organizational, institutional, and communicative dynamics can enable abuse. 

Finally, Dr. Elizabeth Odders-White, PhD, will describe the impact of traumatic academic experiences on our ability to function professionally and will explore ways to support ourselves and others – pathways to peace –  in the midst of these challenges.

The symposium will conclude with a Q&A period featuring our expert panel.

R.R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology Lecture featuring 2025 Early-Career Investigator Award Recipient Katheryn Rothenberg

Quantitative genetics is a powerful toolkit for understanding sources of within population variation. When applied to anatomical regions containing homologous structures, this toolkit allows us to pinpoint how genetic and environmental contributions to variation differ based on developmental timing, location in the body, and function. References to heritability and evolvability in peer-reviewed articles increased approximately two-fold from 2001-2010 to 2011-2020 based on PubMed, and are increasing at a similar rate this decade. Despite this increase in popularity, misconceptions about the applications, theory, and limitations of these methods persist, and literature on the topic is often intimidating to those unfamiliar with the field.

As interest in and resources for quantitative genetic research become more available, it is crucial that scholars engage with applications, theory, and methods across multiple disciplines to ensure that future research can go beyond past limitations. To that end, this symposium will provide an opportunity to engage with applications of these methods, the underlying theory, and future directions in the field of quantitative genetics. This symposium will also help familiarize anatomists and educators with concepts like heritability that are frequently misunderstood in the scientific literature. The three speakers each provide distinct perspectives on the topics of heritability and evolvability in homologous structures as well as the concepts of homology and evolvability more broadly.

Qualitative research focuses on understanding and interpreting the meanings and experiences associated with human behavior and social phenomena, which involves collecting non-numerical data to gain deep insights into people’s feelings, thoughts, and interactions. Some of the key data collection methods in qualitative research include field observations, reflective diary entries, focus groups, and interviews. These methods allow researchers to gather rich and detailed data that provide a deeper understanding of the subject matter. The data is often analyzed thematically to identify patterns, themes, and meanings. 
This symposium will focus on the methods mentioned in the title, with each speaker dedicating 20 minutes to delve into these topics within the context of anatomical sciences education. Each presentation will introduce a method, describe its benefits and challenges, and overview key considerations for utilizing the method relevant to the novice researcher. The symposium will include practical examples drawn from the anatomical sciences literature and guidance on applying these methods in case studies. The symposium will conclude with a 30-minute panel discussion and questions from the audience. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the use and importance of key qualitative research methods, enabling educators to create more effective, supportive, and engaging learning experiences.

What's Lt? An online content delivery platform designed for student labs and used by anatomy and physiology instructors in 175 institutions across the US. Lt incorporates over 300 accurate, customizable and interactive lessons. With the ability to collect live data, grade student progress, and review classroom analytics, our goal is to engage students with hands-on lab activities. Spend some time checking out all Lt has to offer as we demonstrate part of our Cardiovascular Anatomy Model and Physiology Labs.

This session will explore diverse experiences in adopting and integrating BioDigital's solution within the anatomy curriculum.  It will cover the implementation of Lippincott Connect courseware for Grant's and Moore's content paired with customized BioDIgital 3D anatomy tours and quizzes to deliver dynamic, immersive, and assignable learning experiences.  Additionally, this session will highlight how instructors can create their own customized 3D experiences, tailored to their curriculum with BioDigital Human Studio, and a new Anatomy for Medical Students Expert Collection, thoughtfully curated to align with specific learning objectives.

Plastination, a process replacing water molecules with a plastic polymer, was pioneered by Gunther von Hagens in the 1970s. Despite its long history, few institutions have laboratories currently developing plastinated models due to challenges such as lab setup complexity, costs, ethical concerns regarding long-term model retention, and the effectiveness of plastinated prosections in education. With medical curricula shifting focus away from traditional dissection and reducing anatomy instruction time, many institutions now emphasize alternative teaching methods like virtual reality and cadaveric prosections. This shift presents an opportunity to reconsider plastination as a valuable educational tool. Additionally, ensuring plastinated models reflect diverse human anatomy and are accessible to all learners promotes a more inclusive and representative educational experience. Key areas of focus for this presentation include establishing an independent plastination lab, historical perspectives on preserved dissections, integrating plastinates with other educational technologies, and ethical considerations in their display.

This session covers connectivity in the developing central and peripheral nervous systems, and the role of glial cells during the development and ageing of the brain. The first talk of the session will describe the use of mouse models to identify signaling mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity and how these can be used to re-establish neuronal connectivity in diseases of the nervous system. The second talk will describe the role of retinoid (vitamin A) signalling in the regulation of the peripheral nervous system of the developing gut. The third short talk will focus on the influence of astrocytes derived from human fragile X syndrome patients in regulating synaptic activity in engrafted mouse brains, as a novel chimeric disease model system. The last short talk will describe an oligodendrocyte cell fate labeling approach in mouse brains to follow the changes in oligodendrocyte populations in response to injury and aging. Altogether, the session will highlight the versatility of using mouse genetic strategies and engraftment approaches to identify cellular and molecular pathological mechanisms that lead to neurodegenerative and congenital disorders, and reveal possible therapeutic strategies to repair neuronal connectivity.

This session is an Educational Platform session organized by the Educational Affairs Committee. The speakers submitted highly scoring educational research abstracts. Join the session to learn more about the educational research projects completed by our members!

C.J. Herrick Award in Neuroanatomy Lecture featuring 2025 Early-Career Investigator Award Recipient Shan Meltzer

If you don't know what placodes are? or perhaps what hairs, feathers, the eye lens, fingerprints, whiskers have in common, then please join our session. Early career researchers will be sharing their latest research in this area. This is a developmental biology session that will will shed light on some fascinating aspects of biology.

Hyatt Regency Portland, Regency Ballroom, Level Two 
Closing Awards Ceremony Dinner
Pre-purchased tickets only.