Social Media Committee

Ourania Varsou, BSc, MBChB, PGCert, PhD

Ourania is a lecturer in Anatomy at the University of Glasgow College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences and holds a BSc and an MBChB. Ourania completed her PhD at the Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre with a project investigating new functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging measures for patients with minor acute focal neurology. She has a PgCert and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a University of Glasgow Recognising Excellent in Teaching Fellow, currently undertaking further postgraduate studies in Academic Practice. 

Ourania teaches anatomy to science, medical and dental students, from sub-honours to honours levels, with her specialist areas including the head and neck region and imaging. She also develops and delivers bespoke face-to-face and online teaching on medical humanities, as an invited faculty member, for several external international institutions.

Ourania’s research includes imaging, clinically-applied anatomy, and scholarship of teaching and learning. Ourania is a strong advocator of medical humanities, writing her own poetry, and serving as an elected member of the international steering committee for The Doctor as a Humanist. She is also an editor for Consilience which is an online peer-reviewed science poetry journal.

Currently, Ourania represents the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, alongside another colleague, on the University of Glasgow Library Committee. In 2020, she was appointed to the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland where she will serve as a member for five years. Ourania is passionate about sustainability and medical humanities.

Marcello Trucas, MD, PhD
Lecturer in Human Anatomy for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cagliari

Ph.D. in Experimental and Clinical Hepatology (Morphology oriented) at the Department of Anatomical Sciences - Sapienza University of Rome. Member of the Italian Society of Anatomy and Histology and Full Member of the Anatomical Society. He specialized in Clinical Pathology, developing skills in immunology and therapy of thromboembolic diseases. Research activity focuses on morphological features of immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases of different organs, through immunohistochemistry, molecular biology, and electron microscopy techniques. He deals with the morphology of the liver in conditions of autoimmunity and fibrosis, and microvascular changes in sickle cell anemia. He has recently started working as a researcher in the Neuroanatomy Lab, Dept of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Cagliari, a facility with long-dated expertise in the neurochemical anatomy of the human and rat nervous system in normal and pathological conditions analyzed with immunochemical and morphometric methods. The experimental models are those of neuronal activation and plasticity elicited by environmental and behavioral stimuli, such as depression, traumatic compression, spinal cord injury, hypoperfusion/reperfusion, and chemotherapeutic drugs.
Other interests in Anatomy concern Anatomical Dissection and the History of Anatomy.

Paula García, MSc
Anatomy demonstrator at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Graduated with a First Class MSc in Human Anatomy from University College Cork, Ireland, where she developed her thesis investigating the relationship between visuospatial thinking and performance in anatomy examinations. 

She currently teaches anatomy and clinical skills to students from a variety of medical and biological sciences courses at the University of Birmingham. 

Her main interests are in anatomy and medical education research, as well the use of new technologies in teaching in the same field.

Meric Goker, MSc

PhD student at RCSI Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine, Dublin, Ireland

An awardee of the anatomical society research studentship and full member of the Anatomical Society. Always have had keen academic interest in human anatomy and tissue engineering since the beginning of the postgraduate journey. Had been working with 3D printers and controlled delivery mechanisms in order to mimic anatomically-relevant biological tissue substitutes. More recently, research focus has shifted towards microneedle-based technologies to investigate prophylactic steps to prevent development of diseases driven by acute joint injury. Additionally, a volunteer for surface modelling and patient simulation for the clinical teaching.

Caterina Franco, MD

Current PhD Researcher in Molecular Genetics, Biotechnologies and Experimental Medicine at The University of Brescia. Member of the Italian Society of Anatomy and Histology (SIAI) Caterina graduated from the University of Brescia discussing a thesis regarding the link between oxidative stress and essential hypertensive disease, analyzing the possible role of melatonin supplementation in maintaining oxidative balance and limiting cardiovascular damage. She has been interested in cadaver dissections, learning the technique both in Italy and in Vienna during her medical degree. Over the years, she has investigated the role of oxidative stress and its effect in various experimental models, including a mouse model of autism. She is interested in the field of public health and tropical diseases, which is why she took part to the Tropical diseases and International medicine Course. She is working on her PhD thesis that is focused on tuberculosis infection and in particular on the possible changes that the lung epithelium may undergo following exogenous stimuli in order to better define the role that these changes may have on the spread of the infection. Additional interests include topics related to Human health and rights all around the World.

Alex Dogaru, MD

Assistant Lecturer in Anatomy for the Faculty of Medicine at the "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

Current PhD Researcher in Anatomy at the Doctoral School of "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, resident doctor in General Surgery, member of the Romanian Society of Anatomy, former project coordinator for Bucharest Medical Students´ Society. Research activity for the PhD thesis that he is working on focuses on the Anatomy of the human pelvis, especially of the mesorectum, with applications in nerve sparing in pelvic oncological surgery. In addition to working as Assistant Lecturer – teaching Anatomy to 1st and 2nd year Medical Students – and as a resident surgeon – training in pelvic, hepatobiliopancreatic, endocrine and breast surgery – other passions include music in almost any form (listening and producing) and supporting football club Rapid Bucharest.