Goals and Missions of
Anatomy and Cell Biology

Anatomy, the study of the relationship between structure and function of the human body, forms the foundation for all other biomedical sciences. Anatomy provides the basic vocabulary, embryological origins, and fundamental relationships on which all other biomedical sciences depend. This discipline encompasses the field of Cell Biology which recognizes our emerging capability to study living processes from the molecular to the gross levels. The department shares in the three basic missions of the university, namely, education, research, and service. Our education mission is to prepare students for careers in research and the health professions. Our research mission is to expand the understanding of how the organization of cells and tissues establish form and function of the human body. Lastly, our service mission is to extend our research and teaching expertise in the study of structure beyond the university community to the scientific community at large and to the public.

Our Teaching Mission
Our Research Mission
Our Service Mission
Appendix

Our Teaching Mission

The teaching mission of the department is to provide lecture and laboratory instruction in anatomical disciplines to more than 600 professional, graduate, and undergraduate students annually. The primacy and fundamental importance of our teaching are reflected in the number of courses we provide and their place in the curricula of four different professional schools. Four of ten courses required of first year medical students and four of eight courses required of first year dental students are taught by our department. Programs in Physical and Occupational Therapy as well as Exercise Science (School of Health Related Professions) require an Anatomy course for first year students taught by our department. Finally, we provide the required, fundamental Anatomy course for the School of Nursing. All of these courses are taught by our faculty, not students. All include laboratories wherein students dissect or examine human material and develop diagnostic skills under the guidance of our faculty. All materials for these laboratories are prepared by faculty and staff of this department. Our department also participates in the university-wide effort to expose all students to the methods and contributions of science by offering a course in human anatomy and reproduction to non-science majors .

Professional Schools


• Required Courses: Gross Anatomy (the study of macrostructure), Histology (the study of cellular structure), Embryology (the study of development), Medical Neuroscience (the study of the nervous system) and Dental Neuroanatomy (the nervous system).
  
• Student population: 139 medical students; 88 dental students
  
• Computer tutorials: Computer assisted learning is provided in four of the five courses. In histology, a comprehensive computer imaging program has been designed by the course coordinator that uses high quality microscope images within a self-learning tutorial.

Graduate School

• Courses: Faculty participation in departmental and interdisciplinary graduate courses such as Cell Biology, Developmental Neurobiology, Morphologic Hematology, and Vision Science.
  
• Student population: these courses include students from the medical school as well as other departments such as Biology, Psychology, and the School of Pharmacy, .
  
• Course components: two of the courses include laboratory sessions taught by our faculty.
  

Undergraduate Schools

• RequiredCourses: Gross Anatomy, Nursing Anatomy, and Macroworld Great Discoveries.
  
• Student population: Gross Anatomy (190 students of physical and occupational therapy and exercise science ), Nursing Anatomy (160 students of nursing and science majors) and Macroworld Great Discoveries (60 non-science majors).
  
• Course components: The anatomy courses involve laboratories and cadaver material provided through the department facilities.

Other Teaching Committments:

• Summer Histology for disadvantaged and nontraditional students.
  
• Rotations for fourth year medical students in gross anatomy, histology, and neuroscience.
  
• Instruction of hospital residents in clinical areas such as surgical specialties and neurology.

Research areas currently under investigation in the department include cell motility and cytoskeletal structure, neuroscience, fertilization and embryogenesis, and computer-aided instruction.

Facilities


• the department is associated with two core facilities supported by the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The department houses and maintains the Light and Electron Microscopy Facility and a senior faculty member in the department serves as director of the Confocal Microscopy Facility.
  
• state-of-the-art technology for vital imaging of cellular and subcellular events is present in several of the departmental research laboratories.
  
• the department maintains a technologically advanced imaging facility for conversion of video and graphics to computer format.

Training

• the department provides graduate training for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees.
  
• the department trains physician scientists in the M.D./Ph.D. program and, in conjunction with clinical departments such as orthopedics, offers the MA degree during residency training.
  
• the department pursues curriculum development through the design and introduction of computer-aided instruction in the medical school.
  
• department faculty organize, administer, and participate in the Graduate Group in Cell Motility.

Collaboration

• faculty in the department provide their research expertise in microscopy and imaging in international educational programs and workshops such as at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, workshops on confocal microscopy, and numerous seminars.
  
• departmental research promotes numerous interactions with other departments seeking to localize molecular and biochemical aspects of cellular processes to specific cells and tissues.

Research and teaching expertise in Anatomy and Cell Biology is shared with our colleagues at the University, in the local community, and at national and international levels.

Technical and Support Services
Technical and support services are provided through the maintenance of a modern facility for electron microscopy. A medical confocal microscopy center under the direction of one of the department's senior faculty (Dr. R. Summers) is housed in the Biomedical Research Building. Both are devoted to the study of structure and provide general training in the preparation of materials and the use of transmission, scanning and confocal microscopes. Additionally, the department also assists investigators who wish to use advanced computer technology for manipulation of video and graphic images.
• Electron Microscope Facility: (1995-1997) Used by 19 university faculty outside the department and 2 members of the business community.
  
• Confocal Microscope Facility: used on an annual basis by approximately 200 faculty and staff from 5 decanal units and investigators from universities nationwide.
  
• Computer Imaging Facility: Used by 13 university faculty over the past year for manipulation of video and graphic images.

Educational Programs Open to the Public
Department outreach and cooperative programs educate the public about the role of Anatomy and Cell Biology in education and medicine.
• Museum of Neuroanatomy: The Museum is dedicated to the study of the brain and serves as a learning experience for students and the general public. It was visited by 1,500 elementary and high school children over the past two years. Adult groups have also been guests, and tours of the museum are regularly arranged by the Buffalo Museum of Science and by science clubs. The Museum of Neuroanatomy has acheived national recognition by official visits from the Medical Museums Association and it is registered with the Society for Neuroscience and the Dana Foundation.
  
• Gross Anatomy Laboratory: The laboratory is dedicated to the study of human anatomy and it is a crucial resource for medical students and physicans. It is visited annually by approximately 400 elementary, high school, and college students. Guests receive a tour and a one hour presentation about the laboratory, body donor program, and human anatomy.

Volunteer and Consultant Work
Faculty serve on editorial boards of scientific journals, study sections of National Institutes of Health, and as consultants or board members of local organizations.

Workshops and Continuing Education
Members of the department conduct workshops in their area of research expertise and offer continuing education courses that support teaching and research of clinical departments.

Use of the Teaching Facilities by Other Departments
Dissection material, microscopic specimens, equipment, and space are used by faculty, students, and clinicians from more than 16 departments for the practice of surgical procedures, preparation for national board examinations, study of cross-sectional anatomy, storage of anatomical specimens for research, conduct of summer projects and experimental procedures.

Body Donor Program


• this program recognizes the importance of anatomical material for medical education. It serves community members who wish to donate their bodies for studies that are an essential part of the training of future physicians and medical specialists.
  
• provides medical material for residency programs.

1. Universities that use the Confocal Facility

• The University Texas
  
• University of Rochester
  
• Vanderbilt University
  
• Canisus College

• UB/Buffalo Public Schools Summer Institute
  
• Assoc. of Professional Heath Oriented Students
  
• Canisus College
  
• Erie County Community College
  
• Summer Minority Step Program
  
• Various local elementary and secondary schools

• Neurobiology of Aging
  
• Experimental Gerontology
  
• Gerontology and Geriatric Education
  
• CRC Reviews in Anatomy
  
• Gerontology Abstracts
  
• Biorheology
  
• Histology and Histopathology
  
• Biological Bulletin

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Mucociliary Transport
  
• NIH - Deafness and Communication Disorders
  
• NIH - NIAAA, Neuroscience and Behavior Subcommittee
  
• National Scientific Advisory Committee for National Institute on Aging
  
• American Federation of Aging Research
  
• AIBS Peer Review Sea Grant Program on Marine Biotechnology

• Adult Day Services - Amherst,NY
  
• Legal Services for the Handicapped and Elderly - Erie County, NY
  
• Meals on Wheels - Erie County, NY
  
• United Shared Services - Western NY
  
• Amherst Senior Services Advisory Board
  
• SubBoard I Clinical Laboratory
  
• Faculty-Student Association ­ Student Health Services

• Microscopic Imaging Workshop, National Society of Histochemistry
  
• Principles of Video Microscopic Imaging, National Society of Histochemistry
  
• Video Imaging and Image Analysis, Cell Motility Group SUNY at Buffalo
  
• Winter Brain Conference

• Pelvic Anatomy for Department of Urology
  
• Cross-Sectional Anatomy for Residency Programs
  
• Head and Neck Anatomy for residents of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Roswell Park.
  
• Hematology for postgraduate Medical Technologists

• Anthropology - provide technical assistance and equipment for preparation of anatomical specimens; yearly.
  
• Art and other departments - for medical illustration and photographic purposes; four sessions yearly; 15 participants.
  
• Dentistry - use of histology labs and equipment including conference microscopes and video equipment for oral histology; weekly, 5 months per year.
  
• Emergency Medicine - Residency program; Full day program twice yearly; 15 participants.
  
• Medicine - medical student clerkship program provides equipment for review session; 24 times yearly; 20 participants.
  
• Neurology - Residency program; twice monthly; 2-3 participants.
  
• Neurosurgery - Residency program; 1-2 students yearly.
  
• Office of Medical Education - medical student review for National Board Examination Part 1; yearly.
  
• Oral Surgery - oral surgeons from Italy practice surgical techniques and implantation; 20 participants for three days; three times per year.
  
• Orthopaedics - physicians practice new surgical procedures and knee replacement techniques; 25 participants; full day program; monthly.
  
• Otolaryngology - Residency program; one month per year; 4 participants.
  
• Physical & Occupational Therapy - utilize models, museum and computers for review.
  
• Sports Medicine - Physical Therapist and Residency program to review surgical approaches and rehabilitation strategies; half-day twice yearly; 10 participants.
  
• Monthly review of Neuroanatomy for senior medical students in Neurology rotation.
  
• Various Departments, faculty and students - provide x-ray view boxes, x-rays, MRIs, slides, anatomical models, bony specimens, books, etc. for use in teaching, and presentations; 100 times a year.
  

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Last update: 05/16/2007