About the Department
The Department of Biomedical Education and Data Science is home base for basic science educators at the Lewis Katz school of Medicine – all experts in our subject areas, all passionate, effective teachers.
Department faculty are full-time educators. We are the lead basic science educators for the medical school’s six degree-granting programs and its postbaccalaureate medical school preparatory program. We contribute to basic science teaching at Temple’s schools of Dentistry and Podiatry as well.
Student success is our benchmark. Our vision is for every student to thrive in every course and every experience within the basic science curricula of their program. In this way, our Department’s goal is to sustain and enhance Temple’s reputation for excellence and innovation in teaching.
Our faculty are experts in subject areas that include human anatomy; embryology; molecular and cellular biology; histology; neuroscience; physiology; microbiology; immunology; pharmacology; biostatistics and epidemiology; and other foundational disciplines in medicine and biomedical science. A core educator with significant expertise oversees all teaching within each discipline – ensuring proficiency of teaching within each, using in-depth knowledge of contemporary approaches to teaching.
We are fluent with contemporary teaching methods and modalities – employing the approaches that produce the best results in specific contexts. We use teaching tools with proven effectiveness – and develop customized materials to address specific educational goals.
In the quest to continuously improve our teaching, we seek student feedback – making adaptations as needed. In short, Temple faculty do what it takes to help students learn.
We also lead and participate in ongoing efforts to evaluate the content and effectiveness of our courses and programs – and schoolwide efforts to advance and improve educational strategy.
Three Keys, Multiple Targets, Many Partners
A key tenet of education at Temple is integration: teaching students to apply basic science knowledge, use it in practical, clinical application.
A second is active learning: engaging students in team-based problem-solving.
A third – with enlarging importance – is health equity: Teaching science and medicine anchored in the social, cultural, economic, and behavioral determinants of health.
To these ends, we weave together biomedical, clinical, and social factors on any given topic. We take lecture-based courses and convert them with activities that maximize student participation.
And we apply these goals to learners at all levels.
We work closely with the Office of Medical Education, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, and leaders of other degree programs at the School of Medicine to equip our students – and faculty – for success in the biomedical science workforce.
In addition to teaching students, we focus on faculty development. We work closely with the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs to support a robust portfolio of faculty education and leadership training opportunities, including mentoring programs for early and mid-career educators. We also partner with Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching. We believe that it is essential to provide ample opportunity for educational scholarship and leadership training for all faculty.
In all we do, our aim is to prepare learners at all levels to function fluently, effectively, and competently.
Data Science
Data science – integral to nearly every aspect of medicine and medical research – is germane to the Department’s mission, too. The Center for Biostatistics and Epidemiology, the School’s biostatistical consulting service, is housed in our Department. This vital resource is staffed by biostatisticians and epidemiologists who provide comprehensive statistical and methodological consultation to researchers and students at Temple. Topics include study design, randomization procedures, sample size and power calculations, database development and statistical analysis. The staff also assists with IRB submissions, grant development, and manuscript preparation.