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A unique and effective method of anatomy education: Small-group learning with prosected plastinated specimens

Lopez, Elisabeth K N; Johnson, Joshua H; Cunningham, Elena P; Warshaw, Johanna; Baker, Eric W
OBJECTIVE:At the New York University College of Dentistry, we are faced with the challenge of teaching Head and Neck Anatomy to a class of approximately 380 first-year students. We have developed an innovative anatomy curriculum that has proven effective in facilitating students' learning and long-term retention of the material. It has the added benefit of being time- and cost-efficient. Here, we share the structure of our curriculum and examine the student outcomes and student feedback. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:In this paper, we describe the evidence-based methods used in our course and present measures of student success. We also surveyed students about aspects of the anatomy curriculum. RESULTS:Our curriculum efficiently manages cost, instructional time, and classroom space, while promoting student success. Over the last 9 years, NYU Dentistry students have achieved a mean first-time pass rate of 98.6% and an average anatomy score of 1.74 standard deviations above the national mean on the National Board Dental Examination Part I. Students agree with instructor assessments of which features of the curriculum are valuable and state that the course helps them prepare for clinical courses. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:We believe that the main factors in the success of our course are the small group setting, the benefits of spaced repetition and frequent quizzes, and the use of plastinated specimens in place of wet cadavers.
PMID: 34724209
ISSN: 1930-7837
CID: 5068312

Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) use olfaction to locate distant fruit

Cunningham, Elena P; Edmonds, Devin; Stalter, Laura; Janal, Malvin N
OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:As many primates live in forests where visibility is limited, the ability to detect the aroma of distant fruit and navigate odor plumes would be highly adaptive. Our study is the first to investigate this ability with strepsirrhine primates. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:We tested the ability of a group of ring-tailed lemurs to detect hidden fruit from afar using scent alone. We hid containers in the underbrush of a semi-natural forest, some baited with real cantaloupe and some with sham cantaloupe, 4-17 m from a path routinely used by the lemurs. Crucially, the containers were not visible from the path. Therefore, the lemurs had to use olfactory cues, but did not have to prioritize them to locate the bait. RESULTS:The lemurs found the real cantaloupe on days that the wind blew the scent of the fruit toward the trail. They did not find the sham cantaloupe. Upon detecting the odor of the bait, the lemurs sniffed the air at one or more locations as they moved toward the bait, a process of navigation known as klinotaxis. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS:The traditional belief is that primates are unable to track odor plumes. The untrained lemurs in this study were able to detect the odor of the cantaloupe among the complex odors of the forest and navigate the odor plume to the fruit. The results indicate that olfaction may be used to respond to cues from distant sources. The ability to track odor plumes may be a critical foraging skill for strepsirrhines.
PMID: 33624841
ISSN: 1096-8644
CID: 4794652

A course with no new information : what is the point?

Chapter by: Cunningham, Elena; Moran, Illian, Warshaw, Johanna; Baker, Eric
in: Clinical & Educational Scholarship Showcase by
[New York NY : NYU College of Dentistry. NYU Academy of Distinguished Educators], 2021
pp. ?-?
ISBN:
CID: 4819862

The use of plastinations to teach anatomy in the time of COVID-19

Chapter by: Johnson, Joshua; Lopez, Lisa; Warsaw, Johanna; Cunningham, Elena; Moran, Lillian; Baker, Eric
in: Clinical & Educational Scholarship Showcase by
[New York NY : NYU College of Dentistry. NYU Academy of Distinguished Educators], 2021
pp. ?-?
ISBN:
CID: 4819942

Response to Darting Primates: Steps toward Procedural and Reporting Standards [Editorial]

Cunningham, Elena P.; Unwin, Steve
The safety of primates which are captured and released in the wild is a topic of concern for many field primatologists. Our article and the recent commentary by Fernandez-Duque et al. contribute to the discussion. Although Fernandez-Duque et al. found a slightly higher rate of fatalities (2.5 %) than Cunningham et al. (2.0 %), their combined rate of fatal and serious injuries was lower (4.0 % vs 5.0 %). The differences in rate are not substantial, given limitations of the data. However, as Fernandez-Duque et al. highlight the need for standardizing methods of analysis, we believe the methods they suggest merit careful consideration. We agree that variation in size, habitat, and the experience of the darting team are important factors. Cunningham et al. reported the influence of these factors on injury and fatality rates. There are, however, some important differences in the methods of Cunningham et al. and Fernandez-Duque et al. We believe it is important to 1) acknowledge possible bias in the data, 2) report results of serious complications that arise during capture, 3) report results of capturing medically compromised primates, and 4) report rates of primates falling to the ground.
ISI:000453916800005
ISSN: 0164-0291
CID: 3562102

Spatial memory of semi-free ranging Lemur catta [Meeting Abstract]

Wilkens, Matthew E.; Cunningham, Elena P.
ISI:000430656804254
ISSN: 0002-9483
CID: 3127882

A unique and effective method of anatomy education [Meeting Abstract]

Lopez, E N; Cunningham, E P; Warshaw, J; Johnson, J; Baker, E W
At the New York University College of Dentistry (NYU Dentistry), we are faced with the challenge of teaching Head and Neck Anatomy to a class of approximately 380 first-year students. We have developed an innovative anatomy curriculum that has proven effective in facilitating students' learning and long-term retention of the material and has the added benefit of being time- and cost-efficient. We believe that the main factors in the success of our course are the frequent low-stakes quizzes, the small group setting, and the use of plastinated specimens in place of wet cadavers. Our anatomy course consists of lectures and laboratory sessions. Students attend 52 hours of lectures in a traditional auditorium setting. All of the lectures are recorded and archived using Mediasite, so that students can review them at their leisure. Students are then divided into 32 small groups consisting of 8 to 14 students. Each group attends 23 lab sessions (110 minutes per session) led by a faculty member. In the labs, students work together to identify anatomical structures on plastinated specimens or bones. The instructor facilitates collaboration amongst the students and leads them in a discussion of cross-sectional anatomy. Frequent low-stakes evaluations allow students to monitor their progress in the course. Students take an online 10-30 question quiz before each lab and a 5-10 question quiz at the end of each lab (together these pre-lab and exit quizzes make up 27.5% of the overall grade). The remainder of the grade in the course is determined by three written multiple-choice exams and one practical exam. We maintain a website with additional resources students can use, including practice questions, photographs of plastinates, animations, and videos. This year, we have also linked to study sets that we have created using Cerego. We have previously published about the success we had in terms of learning goals and student satisfaction after switching from cadaver dissection to plastinations (Baker et al., 2013). Our curriculum has demonstrated continued success over the last 5 years. Within this time period, on the NBDE Part I, NYU Dentistry students have achieved a mean first-time pass rate of 99.3% and an average anatomy score of 1.73 standard deviations above the national mean. We would like to share our methods with instructors at other institutions
EMBASE:622542190
ISSN: 1530-6860
CID: 3161312

Mastering anatomy: Using cerego as a teaching tool [Meeting Abstract]

Warshaw, J; Lopez, E N; Baker, E W; Cunningham, E P
At the New York University College of Dentistry, lab conference hours for the review of anatomy in preparation for the National Board Dental Examination Part I (NBDE Part I) were reduced due to an increase in incoming class size in 2015. Tasked with providing students an effective means to review material that could now not be covered in the given lab hours, we identified the online platform Cerego as a way to provide a self-guided anatomy study tool. Use of Cerego replaced what would otherwise have been 96 faculty hours of instruction. We initially created three anatomy topic modules in Cerego, each of which included a combination of images, identifications, associations, and short text passages. Creation of modules in Cerego was intuitive and straightforward. The platform, with algorithms based on principles of retrieval learning and spaced practice, guides the student through individualized iterations of review in multiple formats, and provides the student with prompts for the most effective timing for return to the material. In addition, both student and instructor have access to fine grained performance analytics. We found that Cerego is well suited to fact memorization, and effective as a means to learn material within the time-frame of a single semester. However, full mastery using the Cerego program - leading to long-term retention - is achieved over a more extended period. A survey after the termination of the NBDE Part I course in 2015, as well as informal discussions with students, has indicated high student satisfaction with Cerego as a study tool. In addition, results for the anatomy portion of the board exam demonstrates student success, with NYU Dentistry students as a whole achieving a 97.1-100% first-time pass rate, and performing at 1.4-2.6 standard deviations above the mean for all dental schools in anatomy in the years 2015-2017. Given the success of our initial Cerego use, we have now incorporated this platform into the Head and Neck Anatomy and Basic Tissues courses within the Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, and other departments at NYU Dentistry have also adopted the use of this tool
EMBASE:622540631
ISSN: 1530-6860
CID: 3161332

The Effects of Age and Sex on Long-term Spatial Memory [Meeting Abstract]

Gonzalez, Maria D.; Janal, Malvin; Wolk, Rachelle; Cunningham, Elena
ISI:000423063102372
ISSN: 0002-9483
CID: 2956392

Darting Primates in the Field: A Review of Reporting Trends and a Survey of Practices and Their Effect on the Primates Involved

Cunningham, Elena P; Unwin, Steve; Setchell, Joanna M
Capture is one of the top ethical concerns of field primatologists, and darting is a common method of capturing primates. Little is published, however, about the safety of darting practices and conditions for the animals concerned. We conducted a literature review to examine trends in the reporting of darting methods and results, and two anonymous surveys of primatologists to gather information on darting methods and their effect on the primates involved. Among 111 papers reporting studies that darted primates, only 18 included full details of procedures; the total numbers of primates darted; and the number, if any, of injuries and complications. In the surveys, 73 respondents reported on 2092 dartings, including 44 injuries. The results show that smaller primates are more likely to be injured. Ninety-one percent of seriously and fatally injured primates were arboreal, although arboreal species accounted for only 54% of the dartings. All primates that were fatally injured due to a dart hitting the abdomen or head were darted with a rifle, which was used for 45% of dartings. The presence of a veterinarian appears to reduce primate mortality in the event of injury or complications. Severe social effects of darting are not common, but include forced copulations, partner changes, and fatal attacks on infants. Lack of information about primate darting hinders refinement in methods that could improve safety. We hope this study will lead to greater sharing of information and the formation of a committee of experts in capture and immobilization to evaluate and regularly update protocols.
ISI:000365754000003
ISSN: 1573-8604
CID: 1901432