Originally from South Texas, Michael Chirillo, MD, PhD, began his college career college studying music (bassoon!) and taking med school pre-requisite courses at the University of Cincinnati. He eventually pursued a combined medicine/research degree at UT Austin and the McGovern Medical School in Houston, Texas. In addition to clinical medicine, he studied how synapses change their shape during learning and memory. During his time as a TA, he fell in love with teaching physiology and has since taught it in the States and abroad. He joins CELS this fall as an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Q. What are your primary research interests?
I’m interested in understanding how we can make big, foundational courses like anatomy and physiology more engaging and more worthwhile. I ask questions like “How can learning basic patterns in undergraduate physiology make better healthcare professionals?” To get at these questions, I do a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis of student outcomes. What I like most about this work is that we’re explorers in uncharted territory: It’s only relatively recent that people who teach anatomy and physiology have started asking these questions. There’s a lot of good work to be done!
How do you describe your work to non-academics?
When I went to med school, I was very unprepared for the amount of information we were expected to learn. Some say it’s like “trying to drink water from a fire hose”, but to me it felt more like standing under Niagara Falls. How can science classrooms better prepare students for the jarring transition into healthcare? The work I do helps students figure out how they learn best. I want to know what techniques used in the classroom strengthen skills students will need to face challenges in modern medicine.
Why URI?
Without a doubt, the students. When I interviewed at URI, I spoke to a large group of undergraduate students about their experiences. Their willingness to speak freely about the challenges they face, their desire to give input, and their informal and pleasant attitude all sealed the deal.
Will you be designing any new courses and/or leading a lab for students at URI?
Anatomy and Physiology has been a course at URI for a long time! But I will be bringing my own spin to it. I will also be teaching two sections of A&P I lab this fall semester.
What are you reading or listening to right now?
Anything Brandon Sanderson! I recently finished all five current books of the Stormlight Archive (journey before destination!) and am now reading Dawnshard. I cannot get enough.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I’ve spent the last 8 years living and working remotely in northeastern Italy, in a beautiful multicultural city along the Slovenian border called Trieste. I am super enthused to be at URI given its huge Italian program. Non vedo l’ora di salutarvi di persona!