The three Otago researchers who have taken key roles on the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists, from left Dr Jon Cornwall, Professor Helen Nicholson and Professor Stephanie Woodley.
University of Otago researcher Professor Helen Nicholson is the first New Zealander to lead an international organisation of anatomical sciences.
Helen was elected President of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) – an umbrella group of 57 anatomy associations across the world, which develops and promotes all anatomical sciences - at its congress last month in Korea.
She is one of three Otago researchers to have taken on key roles within the Federation; Professor Stephanie Woodley from the Department of Anatomy, was elected as one of the Secretaries, and Dr Jon Cornwall from the Otago Medical School was appointed as the Chair of the Federative International Committee for Ethics and Medical Humanities (FICEM).
Helen, whose research is in clinical anatomy and medical education at Otago, has been a member of the Executive Committee of the IFAA for 15 years, first as editor of Plexus – the IFAA newsletter – and more recently as Chair of the Federative International Committee for the Support of Anatomy Professionals (FICSAP).
She is honoured to be elected president of the IFAA.
“It is a real privilege to provide leadership to the IFAA and work to promote the discipline of anatomy.”
A recent IFAA project Helen led surveyed anatomists around the world at differing stages in their careers to gauge the factors that helped develop their pathway, and what support would be useful. This led to a pilot programme in collaboration with Flinders University for emerging anatomists in Africa to develop their expertise in educational research.
Stephanie, who has been a member of FICSAP for the past year, is looking forward to promoting and progressing anatomy globally.
Stephanie’s research interest is musculoskeletal anatomy and its clinical application, particularly to the field of physiotherapy. Much of this research focuses on furthering understanding of “normal” anatomy, as well as exploring the impact of changes in structure and function across a range of conditions like lateral hip pain and hamstring strain injuries to better inform clinical management.
Jon has been a member of FICEM for 10 years and was nominated by the committee to be the next Chair. Jon’s research interests are focused on ethics and ethical issues relating to the use of bodies in medical science.
Kōrero by Claire Grant, Communications Advisor, School of Biomedical Sciences