About the authors

Associate Professor Laura Gregory and Dr Mikaela Reynolds have a long-standing passion for delivering high quality education experiences for students in human anatomy, as well as leading a strong research program in Clinical Anatomy and Paediatric Imaging at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), having taught anatomy at a tertiary level for a combined 31 years. Miss Annabelle Kimmorley is a sessional academic and PhD candidate and has been teaching anatomy at a tertiary level for 3 years. Each author comes with a diverse University experience with varying areas of expertise. Associate Professor Gregory completed a Bachelor of Science in 1999, a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in the field of Anatomical Sciences in 2000, and PhD in skeletal biology in 2005. Dr Reynolds is an early career academic having completed a Bachelor of Forensic Sciences in 2012, a Masters of Applied Science (Research) in the field of forensic anthropology in 2014, and PhD in human growth and development in 2021. Miss Kimmorley is an early career sessional academic having completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science majoring in human anatomy in 2020, a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) in the field of anatomical variation in 2021 and is currently a PhD candidate in the area of athlete bone health having commenced in 2022.

The authors have a breadth of teaching experience using human donor material to highlight anatomical variation phenotypic expression, including the use of anatomical dissection to encourage student understanding of the significance of identifying anatomical variation. However not all students have the opportunity to interact with human donor material, and therefore the authors have recognised a need for improved learning resources to support student understanding of anatomical variation in all health professional courses at a tertiary level.

Our research is directly aligned to the topic of this textbook with 12 papers published in anatomical variation in an Australian population (8 from Gregory and colleagues; 4 from Gregory, Reynolds and colleagues), with another 8 currently in the process of publication. These publications draw on the interpretation of anatomical variation using medical imaging technologies including plain radiography and computed tomography. In 2021, as part of Miss Kimmorley’s Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) research, we completed a formal evaluation of student understanding of anatomical variation within our own institute and discovered critically low levels of understanding. Comprehensive resources were created to improve introductory student knowledge in anatomical variation including an online module in Articulate Rise. This led to the development of a comprehensive anatomical variation curriculum framework to improve student development and depth of understanding of anatomical variation, which formed the basis of how this textbook has been designed.

If you would like to provide feedback on this OER, please do so by contacting the authors by email:

Associate Professor Laura Gregory l.gregory@qut.edu.au	Dr Mikaela Reynolds mikaela.reynolds@qut.edu.au	Annabelle Kimmorley a.kimmorley@qut.edu.au