(Left to right) Mary Vaughan, Ph.D.,and Patricia A. Brewer, Ph.D., have incorporated technology into their teaching to improve student learning.
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Two UT Health Science Center San Antonio faculty members were inducted into the University of Texas Academy of Health Science Educators at the UT System’s Health Science Education Conference held Feb. 18-19 in Austin.

The academy recognizes distinguished scholars for teaching excellence in health science education. It also provides support for faculty development, encourages the creation and implementation of innovative educational projects, and promotes curriculum design and reform.

“We are very proud of our new Academy of Health Science Education members,” said President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP. “Each of them has made significant contributions to learning at the Health Science Center and they deserve to be named among the best educators in the state.”

The 2010 inductees include Patricia A. Brewer, Ph.D., associate professor of physical therapy and assistant dean for student affairs in the School of Health Professions, and Mary Vaughan, Ph.D., associate professor of cellular and structural biology in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Dr. Brewer: Innovative teaching
Dr. Brewer is known for her enthusiasm for teaching and technology. She joined the Health Science Center faculty in 1999, serving first as an adjunct faculty member and then as an assistant professor in the departments of Cellular & Structural Biology and Physical Therapy, teaching courses in anatomy, neuroscience, pathology and pharmacology.

Starting in 1997, Dr. Brewer was a pioneer in the development of Web-based courses, first at the University of Texas at San Antonio and then in the School of Health Professions at the Health Science Center. In 2005, she led a team of 16 Health Science Center faculty members from all five schools in developing an innovative approach to teaching anatomy courses by incorporating such technological enhancements as dissection videos and 3-D medical-illustration animations to better engage students in the learning process, make learning available to them “on demand” and update teaching methodologies at the Health Science Center. In 2006, the project, “GATEways: Gross Anatomy Teaching Enhancement,” won first place in the UT System’s Innovation in Health Science competition.

Even though she now devotes more of her time to administration than to teaching, Dr. Brewer said that everything she does is student-focused. “Students are relationships, not transactions” is her tagline. “I try to live that philosophy every day, whether I am in the classroom, the gross anatomy lab or my student affairs office,” said Dr. “B,” as she is affectionately known by her students.

She is a charter member and the inaugural president of the Academy of Master Teachers, a Health Science Center professional society established in 2008 to recognize exceptional educators and encourage the scholarship of teaching. Academy members serve as professional role models and mentors for faculty, residents, fellows and students. Dr. Brewer also received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2005.

Dr. Brewer graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree cum laude in psychology from Michigan State University. She earned her Ph.D. in anatomy from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and received a postdoctoral fellowship in neurochemistry from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Vaughan: Education and research
During her 36 years at the Health Science Center, Dr. Vaughan has enjoyed teaching medical and dental neuroscience to students and developing seven CD-ROMs for health professional students.

Since 1983, she has been the course director, lecturer and laboratory instructor for the medical neuroscience course in the Department of Cellular & Structural Biology. She also has lectured and been involved in dental microscopic anatomy, dental hygiene head and neck anatomy and advanced neuroanatomy. She has also offered enrichment activities in the community for younger students from elementary through high school.

“I‘ve enjoyed working with the students, and that’s what I’ll miss most when I retire,” she said. Whether it was youngsters she was trying to interest in neuroscience by inviting them to view and hold preserved brain specimens to working in the lab alongside many postdoctoral students from Europe, Asia and the Far East, Dr. Vaughan has focused on education and research.

Dr. Vaughan received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1989 and the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Piper Professorship in 2002. She also is a charter member of the UT Health Science Center Academy of Master Teachers.