Teresa Patitucci, PhD

Associate Professor

Locations

Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy

Contact Information

Education

Anatomy Teaching Certificate: American Association of Anatomists, 2017, Anatomy Training Program
PhD, Cell Biology, Neurobiology, & Anatomy, 91大神 College of Wisconsin, 2016
BS, Major: Biomedical Sciences; Minors: Chemistry, Fine Art, St. Norbert College, 2008

Biography

I teach Human Anatomy and Neuroscience to learners across multiple disciplines including pharmacy, graduate, and medical students. I strive to cultivate an innate interest in the subject matter in each of my students. I use alternative teaching tools such as drawing and plastination to engage students with the anatomical sciences.

Plastination is a preservation technique used to infuse polymers or plastics into body parts, converting them into hardened, odorless specimens that do not decay. This technique was pioneered by Gunther von Hagens and made world-famous through the traveling “Body Worlds” exhibit. I began a plastination lab on the MCW-Milwaukee campus in 2018-19 for the long-term retention of anatomical specimens to use as educational tools in 91大神courses and community education across the state.

I conduct educational research with the goal of optimizing the learning experience for students. A primary focus of my research is to develop emotional intelligence, teamwork skills, and well-being strategies during the first semester of medical school by having students reflect on experiences with teammates and human body donors in their Clinical Human Anatomy course. Other research includes analyzing efficacy of in-class teaching methods such as blended learning and assessment methods such as digital lab practicals.

Learn more about Dr. Patitucci in the 91大神Magazine article "From Grad Students to Faculty Members" (PDF)

Research Interests

I have had the opportunity to teach multiple groups of students including college undergraduates, pharmacy students, graduate students, and medical students across a range of subjects including human anatomy, regenerative medicine, and neuroscience. I believe the role of an educator is to prepare students for their life rather than just for one class. As a result, I strive to design learning sessions to be relevant to what the learners will need after they move on, whether that be into clinical medicine, research, or some other focus. People learn the best when they are actively engaged with the material and have a genuine interest in learning about the subject. Therefore, I try to cultivate an innate interest in each of my students. I use alternative teaching tools such as drawing and plastination to engage students with anatomy.

Drawing or making other visual diagrams can be a fun way to summarize complex material while showing relationships between topics. I utilize drawing to make educational resources, learning activities during active learning sessions, and as a tool to summarize material in review sessions. Drawing a diagram can help a student summarize vast amounts of detail into a simple schematic in a relatively short time.

Additionally, I plastinate human organs to use as educational resources for 91大神courses as well as for community outreach projects. Plastination is a preservation technique used to infuse polymers or plastics into body parts, converting them into hardened, odorless specimens that do not decay. This technique was pioneered by Gunther von Hagens and made world-famous through the traveling “Body Worlds” exhibit. Specimens are fixed with formalin, then fatty tissue and water are replaced with acetone. The acetone is subsequently replaced with a plastic or polymer under vacuum conditions. Finally, the polymer is cured with light or gas to harden the specimen.

(Thapar M, Dominguez E, Stark K, Neist J, Quirk K, Siker M, Fritz JD, Roth GM, Patitucci T.) WMJ. 2024 May;123(2):106-112 PMID: 38718238 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85192595537 05/08/2024
(Ellinas EH, Kaljo K, Patitucci TN, Novalija J, Byars-Winston A, Fouad NA.) J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2019 Mar;28(3):393-402 PMID: 30481114 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85062960663 11/28/2018
(Sison SL, Patitucci TN, Seminary ER, Villalon E, Lorson CL, Ebert AD.) Hum Mol Genet. 2017 Sep 01;26(17):3409-3420 PMID: 28637335 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85040601550 06/24/2017
(Osman EY, Washington CW 3rd, Kaifer KA, Mazzasette C, Patitucci TN, Florea KM, Simon ME, Ko CP, Ebert AD, Lorson CL.) Mol Ther. 2016 Sep;24(9):1592-601 PMID: 27401142 PMCID: PMC5113110 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-84981277292 07/13/2016
(Patitucci TN, Ebert AD.) Hum Mol Genet. 2016 Feb 01;25(3):514-23 PMID: 26643950 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-84960888922 12/09/2015
(Rindt H, Feng Z, Mazzasette C, Glascock JJ, Valdivia D, Pyles N, Crawford TO, Swoboda KJ, Patitucci TN, Ebert AD, Sumner CJ, Ko CP, Lorson CL.) Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Jul 15;24(14):4094-102 PMID: 25911676 PMCID: PMC5007659 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-84936741397 04/26/2015
(Wilk MA, McAllister JT, Cooper RF, Dubis AM, Patitucci TN, Summerfelt P, Anderson JL, Stepien KE, Costakos DM, Connor TB Jr, Wirostko WJ, Chiang PW, Dubra A, Curcio CA, Brilliant MH, Summers CG, Carroll J.) Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014 May 20;55(7):4186-98 PMID: 24845642 PMCID: PMC4098060 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-84904346942 05/23/2014
(McGivern JV, Patitucci TN, Nord JA, Barabas MA, Stucky CL, Ebert AD.) Glia. 2013 Sep;61(9):1418-1428 PMID: 23839956 PMCID: PMC3941074 07/11/2013
(Ebert AD, Shelley BC, Hurley AM, Onorati M, Castiglioni V, Patitucci TN, Svendsen SP, Mattis VB, McGivern JV, Schwab AJ, Sareen D, Kim HW, Cattaneo E, Svendsen CN.) Stem Cell Res. 2013 May;10(3):417-427 PMID: 23474892 PMCID: PMC3786426 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-84874795685 03/12/2013
(Beck ET, Jurgens LA, Kehl SC, Bose ME, Patitucci T, LaGue E, Darga P, Wilkinson K, Witt LM, Fan J, He J, Kumar S, Henrickson KJ.) J Mol Diagn. 2010 Jan;12(1):74-81 PMID: 19959800 PMCID: PMC2797721 12/05/2009
(Bose ME, Beck ET, Ledeboer N, Kehl SC, Jurgens LA, Patitucci T, Witt L, LaGue E, Darga P, He J, Fan J, Kumar S, Henrickson KJ.) J Clin Microbiol. 2009 Sep;47(9):2779-86 PMID: 19641066 PMCID: PMC2738075 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-69949100084 07/31/2009