Bethesda, Maryland— The American Association of Anatomists' 2012 Basmajian Award will be presented on April 24 to Todd Hoagland, associate professor in the department of cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The awards ceremony will take place at the AAA Annual Meeting at EB 2012 (Tuesday, April 24, San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina, San Diego, CA).
This award recognizes health science faculty who are in the formative stages of their career, teach human or veterinary gross anatomy, can document excellence in their contribution to the teaching of gross anatomy, and have outstanding accomplishments in biomedical research or scholarship in education.
According to Joseph C. Besharse, Marvin Wagner Professor and chair of cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Hoagland "is a true academic in that he believes in and participates in medical education research. He also has extensive administrative experience as a long-term course Director at BU and now at MCW." Besharse goes on to say that in a short time Hoagland "has become an important and respected member of the MCW medical education community."
Besharse also notes the quality of Hoagland's character, explaining he has an "inherent ability to see and seek common ground among competing interests while keeping the interests of our students in the foreground. This has become obvious in the respect he has gained from more research-intensive faculty in the Department …those faculty see him as a leader and valued colleague, and his recruitment has gone a long way toward bridging the gap between research intensive faculty and their responsibilities to medical education."
In addition to collaborating with clinicians and basic scientists on clinically applicable anatomic science research and medical education studies, Hoagland has shown he believes improving the academic training of the next generation is a priority by developing, with Chair Mark Moss, the Vesalius program at Boston University School of Medicine. Hoagland explains "One of our goals of this teacher training program was to ensure every graduate from the department was a competent steward of anatomical science knowledge and some could go on to be master educators. We believed that doctoral students shouldn't just be chained to a lab bench, but instead get experiences that replicate those of junior faculty."
Hoagland received his undergraduate degree in biology from Bucknell University and his Ph.D. in physiology from the University of Notre Dame. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Medical College of Wisconsin faculty, where he is currently a course director for Clinical Human Anatomy and Advanced Clinical Anatomy (4th year elective), and anatomy discipline steward and co-director for the Musculoskeletal Skin module in the pilot integrated curriculum. Hoagland's hard work and dedication has allowed him to earn several teaching awards, an award for outstanding ethical leadership and induction into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.
Hoagland is an active member of the American Association of Anatomists (AAA), the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA), the American Physiological Society (APS), and the International Association of Medical Sciences Educators (IAMSE).
This year's Basmajian Award committee was chaired by Valerie O'Loughlin; other members were Judith Anderson and Norton Barry Berg.
The American Association of Anatomists, based in Bethesda, MD, was founded in 1888 for the "advancement of anatomical science." Today, AAA is the professional home for biomedical researchers and educators focusing on anatomical form and function. In addition to being the primary educators of medical students in their first year of medical school, AAA members worldwide work in imaging, cell biology, genetics, molecular development, endocrinology, histology, neuroscience, forensics, microscopy, physical anthropology, and numerous other exciting and developing areas. AAA publishes three journals—Anatomical Sciences Education, The Anatomical Record and Developmental Dynamics—plus a quarterly newsletter. Among its other programs and services, the organization sponsors an Annual Meeting (part of Experimental Biology) and maintains a Web site that offers members and others a variety of tools to enhance their teaching and research.