Ann Zumwalt, PhD, Receives Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching
Ann Zumwalt, PhD, associate professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, has been recognized with the 2018 BUSM highest teaching honor, the Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching.
The award honors an outstanding educator and acknowledges the importance of teaching skills and commitment to students and education. Established in recognition of the exceptional teaching and devotion to students exemplified by Stanley L. Robbins, MD, former professor and chair of pathology.
Those who wrote letters in nomination of Dr. Zumwalt said, “She is engaging, knowledgeable and personable. She is an excellent educator and students comment that they can really tell she cares about their learning.”
Another said, “She is a terrific lecturer, who presents the material in a way that makes it clear and engaging. She is always willing to help, and is always happy to answer questions,” shared a student in a nomination letter.
In addition, Dr. Zumwalt was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the American Association of Anatomists–the largest national anatomy organization in the country. Among her responsibilities, she will help provide governance and establish policy for the organization, while assuring the activities of the association are consistent with its mission, vision and strategic plan.
Dr. Zumwalt earned her doctorate in 2005 from the Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her research there demonstrated that endurance exercise does not affect the surface morphology of skeletal muscle attachments. These findings challenged the rarely questioned assumption that analysis of these features can be used to provide insight into the activity patterns of extinct human and animal populations. Dr. Zumwalt subsequently joined the Animal Locomotion Laboratory in the Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy at Duke University. There she investigated the effects of hypermuscularity on locomotor patterns and bone morphology in rodents. She also collaborated on various research and educational projects with clinicians in radiation oncology, obstetrics and gynecology and neurology.
Dr. Zumwalt directs the Body Structures (medical gross anatomy) modules for the first year medical curriculum. She also teaches advanced clinical anatomy topics in the medical school curriculum, including the 4th year elective Teaching in Anatomy and anatomy refresher sessions for the Obstetrics & Gynecology 4th year boot camp. Within the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology she is Course Director of the Teaching in the Biomedical Sciences course and Anatomy Journal Club.
She is the chairman of the Preclerkship Curriculum Subcommittee of the Medical Education Committee and is a past chair of the John McCahan Medical Campus Education Day committee. She is a School of Medicine representative to the Boston University Faculty Council and department representative to the BUSM Committee on Faculty Affairs. She also serves as the Masters Student Advisor for the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. She also represents BUSM nationally on the AAMC Committee on Faculty and Academic Societies.