Collaborative fosters educational excellence and leaders in health science education.
School of Medicine.
Kristen Prufrock, PhD, an assistant professor of anatomy in the Department of Neuroscience, was inducted Oct. 15 into the Academy of Educators at Washington University School of Medicine.
The academy, which inducted its first class in 2019, includes more than 130 WashU Medicine educators advancing educational excellence and leadership in health science education. The academy offers programs, workshops, grants and awards to support members’ skill development and educational growth.
“I’m excited to join a lively community of faculty interested in medical education,” Prufrock said. “The biggest benefit of involvement in the academy is that it provides access to WashU’s large network of medical educators. Junior faculty can especially take advantage of the group’s pool of knowledge and can find inspiration to improve their teaching or initiate projects in education research. Additionally, the academy is an easy way to identify potential mentors.”
A selective, service-based organization, Academy of Educators membership is granted through a formal review process conducted by WashU Medicine educators and external reviewers.
“I would recommend that people talk to existing mentors and attend some of the faculty development workshops that the academy runs if people are interested in joining,” Prufrock said. “Additionally, Education Day, the academy’s half-day conference, is a great way to connect to members and get a glimpse of education research at WashU.”
Prufrock, who joined WashU in January 2022, uses biomechanical approaches, including muscle fiber architecture and 3D models generated from micro-CT scans, to investigate how diet and the demands of food processing shape the mammalian chewing system, both within an animal’s lifetime and over evolutionary time.
A current research study involving Prufrock includes her and anatomists at other institutions identifying the cellular principles governing how facial bones take shape.