Zucker School of Medicine

Science Education

Department of Science Education 

Welcome to the Department of Science Education (DSE). Our mission is to actively engage medical students in learning by applying the broad spectrum of scientific principles that underlie health and disease across the life cycle. The DSE is structured to facilitate the delivery of an integrated program of study in which basic, clinical, and social sciences are applied in a student- driven, case and problem-based curriculum. Our faculty therefore includes both scientists and clinicians with expertise across the basic science disciplines of anatomy, biochemistry, embryology, genetics, histology/cell biology, immunology, molecular biology, neuroscience, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and physiology. Our interdisciplinary department also includes specialists from other disciplines including social, behavioral and physical anthropology, library sciences, science writing and medical narrative, medical jurisprudence, medical ethics, and nursing sciences. Our faculty work together to integrate topics longitudinally and assure primary exposure is followed by revisits in later sessions and courses to refresh and advance student learning. Our curriculum stresses self-directed learning to assure students are becoming independent, critical thinkers early in their medical education. 

The one feature that unites the diverse DSE faculty is our commitment to educational excellence. We believe that scholarly activity and productivity elevates our understanding of the biomedical and clinical sciences and informs our approach to delivering content to our students. To that end, we engage in medical education research, basic and translational research, and clinical care and research. We invite you to explore our faculty and research pages.