Professor Danielle Bentley joined the Faculty of Medicine’s Division of Anatomy in 2017 (with both a general appointment (restricted-teaching) in the Institute of Medical Science and a cross-appointment in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology). She primarily teaches Embryology and Gross Anatomy to a wide array of student populations, including undergraduate, graduate, allied health, and medical students from the Faculty of Arts & Science, Institute of Medical Science, Department of Radiation Sciences, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, and the MD Program. With courses that are uniquely designed to meet the vocational expectations of each student cohort, her overarching goal as a professor is to enable her students to apply foundational anatomical knowledge to real-life scenarios. As such, her classrooms, whether they be the dissection lab or the virtual learning platform, are dynamic and engaging with embedded clinical applications used to demonstrate the relevance of anatomy as an essential building block to the study of the human body.  

As an educational researcher and scholar, Professor Bentley’s program of research is dedicated to authentic student learning within the anatomical sciences through evidenced-based practices and meaningful assessments. Her research has received institutional (a University of Toronto Learning & Education Advancement Fund Grant) and International (American Association for Anatomy) recognition and funding, and her work is broadly disseminated at national and international conferences as well as through peer-reviewed publications. Professor Bentley invites undergraduate students to actively engage in this scholarly work, guiding them as they develop their own research identities. Outside of the classroom, Professor Bentley is committed to her own professional development, exemplified by her recent participation in the University’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Cohort as well as her recent completion UHN’s Stepping Stones Program. She also supports the teaching practices and education research endeavours of her colleagues both locally (via one-on-one research design consultations) and internationally (demonstrated by her co-planning of the international Anatomy Education Research “UNconference” event to enhance research design).