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Rebecca Fisher, PhD Department Contact: |
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Brief Bio
Dr. Fisher is the interim chair of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences and director of the Gross Anatomy Laboratory at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She also holds an adjunct faculty position in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.
Dr. Fisher was recruited to the College of Medicine – Phoenix as a founding faculty member in 2006 and was responsible for designing the anatomy curriculum and the gross anatomy laboratory. She has received nine teaching awards, including the Basmajian Award from the American Association for Anatomy (AAA).
In 2018, Dr. Fisher was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honors Society in recognition of her leadership in fostering empathy in the anatomy lab and humanism in the practice of medicine.
From 2010-2013, she served on the Board of Directors for the AAA; and from 2015-2018, on the Council of Faculty and Academic Societies for the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Dedicated to increasing the representation of minorities in STEM fields, Dr. Fisher is a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for the AAA and actively participates in Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians (BNGAP) initiatives. A longtime ally for the LGBTQ community, Dr. Fisher served as faculty advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance on the college's campus, and its successor, LGBTQ in Medicine.
Dr. Fisher received a BA with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University, as well as MPhil and PhD degrees from Yale University. Upon graduation, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution.
Trained as an anatomist and paleontologist, Dr. Fisher investigates the functional anatomy and evolution of vertebrates and cephalopods. She has studied a diverse array of species, including artiodactyls, carnivorans, lizards and octopuses. In addition, she collaborates with engineers to design bio-inspired robots for medical, industrial and military applications.