Our faculty are responsible for the anatomy education of all doctors-in-training at UC San Diego. Our award-winning teaching approach centers on the dissection laboratory where active learning of human structure by student doctors is guided by surgeons and an innovative curriculum that emphasizes clinical applications. We oversee a body donation program that provides for the education of both medical students and established MD specialists who return to UC San Diego for continuing education in the latest surgical techniques.
Geoffroy Noel, PhD
Chief, Division of Anatomy
Dr. Noel comes to us from McGill University in Montreal where he served as Associate Professor and Director of the Division of Anatomical Sciences. Dr. Noel completed his undergraduate and graduate work at Ecole Normale Superieure de Paris and his Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2010 where his principal research involved the role of auquporin in the pathophysiology of brain edema. On completion of this degree he secured a post-doctoral teaching position at McGill in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology for two years before returning to UBC in a tenure track position in the Department of Cellular and Physiology Sciences. In these initial experiences Dr. Noel was quickly recognized for his excellence in the instruction of anatomy, pathology, embryology and neurosciences.
He was recruited back to McGill in 2014 where he remained until his transition to UC San Diego. As the director of Anatomical Sciences at McGill, Dr. Noel was responsible for anatomy instruction across a broad spectrum of learners including undergraduates, future physicians, nurses, and others. He introduced a number of innovative curricular changes and teaching strategies. These include the 3D printing, augmented reality incorporating body donor imaging, peer-instruction methods, and new approaches to body donation.
Dr. Noel has consistently earned the respect and admiration of his pupils as evidenced by the regular receipt of institutional teaching awards. He is widely published in the field of anatomy instructional methodology and has been quite active in facilitating anatomical instruction in underserved areas around the world. It became clear in the interview process how incredibly passionate Dr. Noel is about teaching, anatomy, and innovation in instructional methodology. We were extraordinarily fortunate to recruit Dr. Noel and are excited about the future of our anatomy instruction programs under his leadership.
som