Maryann MacNeil, MA, Receives Award for Excellence in Teaching

Maryann MacNeil, MA, assistant professor of anatomy & neurobiology, has been recognized with BUSM’s highest teaching honor, the Stanley L. Robbins Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The annual award honors an outstanding educator and acknowledges the importance of teaching skills and commitment to students and education. It was established in recognition of the exceptional teaching and devotion to students exemplified by Stanley L. Robbins, MD, former professor and chair of pathology.

“Professor MacNeil is a valued and valuable member of our educator community,” a colleague said. “She does not draw attention to herself or her work, and it is only through working with her for so many years that I have come to understand the scope and quality of her efforts. She is an unsung hero of BUSM and it is beyond time that she be recognized as the truly exceptional educator that she is.”

Her work ethic is described as second to none, with consistently high teaching evaluations with many comments such as:

“This material was pretty challenging but professor of MacNeil did a nice job establishing continuity with what she had taught previously and distilling things down to the key concepts. Her syllabi are always helpful and well-written.”

“She is so warm and kind, her lectures are clear and concise. Embryology is so hard to understand and she really tried to make it approachable. I appreciate the repetition because it reinforced the topic.”

“I love the level of detail and the carefulness put into these lectures. They give wonderful examples with great videos and I can always tell that so much thought has gone into them.”

MacNeil received her degree in physical therapy, summa cum laude, from Northeastern University, Boston. Her clinical experience was in neuro-rehabilitation, primarily with traumatic brain injury and pediatrics. She came to BUSM as a student in 2004 and based on her interest in anatomy and particularly in research related to the neural response to aging, joined the anatomy and neurobiology department. Her research was in sleep physiology, specifically comparing circadian rhythms in young verses aged populations. After completing her master of art degree in 2006, she was offered a faculty position in the department. She completed her Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Educational Leadership Management in 2019.

Much of her time is spent teaching and working with students. She covers the topics of gross anatomy, medical histology and medical embryology in courses taught to medical, dental and graduate medical sciences students.