Focus on Faculty
May 2010
Helen Amerongen, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Cell Biology and Anatomy
Helen Amerongen, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Where were you born?
I was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
How/when did you become interested in science and medicine?
I have always been interested in the natural world. It didn't
occur to me at first to connect that with a course of study, and
when I went to college (at the University of Alberta) I went into
pre-law, taking after my father who is a lawyer. During the first
week of class, talking to friends who had enrolled in science
classes, biology sounded a lot more interesting to me than pre-law,
so I switched. I did my PhD at St. Andrews University in Scotland
in marine biology. I was working on cell biological problems
in marine organisms. Then, as a post-doc, I shifted to working
in mammalian models. That moved me more toward medically related
topics.
What did you do after your PhD?
I was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta for two
years, then at Harvard Medical School for six years. I joined
the faculty here at the University of Arizona in 1992. I was
hired at 80 percent time as a research assistant professor with
a focus on intestinal cell biology. After a year, I decided I
wanted more time with my young daughter, so I shifted to 30 percent
time and continued teaching only. When I was just focused on
the teaching, I found that I loved it. As my daughter grew up,
my percentage of time at work kept building. When I became full-time
again, my efforts were in medical education, though I still had
a research title.
Why did you decide to come to the UA?
My then-husband and I interviewed in several places, and this
was the best fit for us. I wanted to be back in the West, as my
family is in western Canada. The university was a good fit. Bob
McCuskey was the head of the cell biology and anatomy (CBA) department
at the time, and he was very supportive. The department felt
like a group of people I could work with.
What do you do?
I direct the Foundations Block of the medical student curriculum.
Prior to 2006, when we began the new curriculum, I directed the
histology and cell biology course. That involved working with
a handful of faculty in my department to put on the course. The
Foundations Block, being interdisciplinary, involves coordinating
and integrating the efforts of approximately 40 faculty from
10 different departments who teach in the block. This is a real
challenge – everybody has different needs and styles – but
also very enjoyable. It has made me feel that this college is
a great community.
I also put substantial effort into developing and improving curricular
components, including Team Learning and Case-Based Instruction
exercises. I'm involved in developing curriculum for Interprofessional
(IP) Education, an effort led by Dr. Andy Theodorou that includes
the UA Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy, Medicine and Law. In each
year of the Foundations Block we have had at least one IP exercise
that brings together hundreds of health sciences students to help
them learn to work well in health-care teams. I also work on developing
effective curriculum in the area of Evidence-Based Decision Making,
an effort led by Dr. Sam Keim. This critical area has been weak
in our curriculum, but I think we are at last zeroing in on something
that works.
All of this takes me well beyond my discipline of histology and
cell biology, which I teach throughout the medical curriculum as
well as to graduate and undergraduate students. My colleagues and
I are exploring new ways of delivering this material, including
in a distance-learning format.
In what ways are you engaged with the greater Arizona public?
As my daughter was growing up I was involved in her schools, e.g.
on the PTA, and I did some scientific presentations for her classes.
I taught paramedic students part of their anatomy and physiology
course for years. This year my colleague, Jean Wilson, and I,
along with others in CBA, are offering a pre-med camp for high
school students via Arizona Youth University. We expect to expand
this in years to come.
Was there a mentor or teacher who helped shape your career?
I had a very engaged high school biology teacher who was so excited
about evolutionary biology – she had a big impact. At the
College of Medicine, Bob McCuskey has been a great mentor. He
recruited me, and he has been tremendously supportive. Kate Dixon,
in her brief time as department head of CBA, was very helpful.
Now we have Carol Gregorio in that position, and she is a wonderful
mentor, very supportive and very creative. Members of the pathology
department have been helpful and encouraging, especially Ron
Weinstein and Achyut Bhattacharyya. In addition, some of my colleagues
in CBA have provided coaching at various times, especially Nate
McMullen and Paul St. John.
What is the biggest change that you've experienced in your field
since you were a student?
In medical education there has been a shift away from discipline-based
curricula taught via lectures and labs to integrated systems-based
curricula that incorporate modalities such as problem-based learning
(called Case-Based Instruction, or CBI, in our curriculum), team-based
learning, and other kinds of application-based, interactive formats.
This is in response to studies showing that learning in context
increases retention and utility of the content studied; also that
critical thinking skills can and must be taught; and even beyond
that, that working effectively in teams is a critical part of medical
practice and must be taught. The technology resources for education
have hugely expanded since I was a student – PowerPoint or
similar presentation software, podcasts, simulations, virtual microscopy,
interactive digital image resources, informatics tools, social
networking – there's an enormous and ever growing array of
sophisticated tools that, when used properly, can engage students
and stimulate learning.
Do you have an insight or philosophy that guides you in your professional
work?
I strive for excellence. I think of myself as working for the
taxpayers of Arizona in order to produce really competent physicians
for the state, the nation and the world. I think competence includes
strong medical-science knowledge and clinical skill, as well as
the ability to practice medicine with heart. In order to train
compassionate physicians we have to be compassionate teachers.
This is very important to me. In addition, I try to be evidence-based
in what I do and incorporate what I understand to be the best of
our evolving knowledge about pedagogy.
What are some of your outside interests?
I enjoy spending time with friends and family. I like to walk
my dog. I spend quite a bit of time doing Zen practice, including
koan study, and I'm working on a biography of my Zen teacher.
I enjoy hiking and usually make at least one trip a year to Sedona
and to the Canadian Rockies. We have a world-class classical
guitar program here at the UA, and I enjoy going to their events.
What do you see as "the future" of medicine?
Our students are the future of medicine. I hope to see them capitalize
on the tremendous potential of personalized medicine to provide
individualized care, while also using telemedicine technology
to provide care in patients' homes, and/or in local clinics.
Advancing on these two fronts has the potential of providing
better outcomes at lower cost. I hope our students will use what
we are teaching them to bring about a shift in the culture of
medicine towards more effective interprofessional collaboration,
and towards clinical decision making that is more evidence-based.
I think it's critically important that the future of medicine
includes a system in which everyone has reasonable access to
health care.
Finally, what advice would you give to today's students?
In whatever you decide to do, strive for excellence. Appreciate
that you will often be working with uncertainty and keep an open
mind. Listen closely to your patients and appraise evidence carefully,
then make the best decision you can. Be kind to yourself and
others. |
