Peter Abrahams, Professor of Clinical Anatomy at Warwick Medical School, has been awarded a National Teaching Fellowship, the most prestigious award for excellence in higher education teaching and support for learning.

The Higher Education Academy who manages the awards, selected Professor Abrahams from more than 200 nominations submitted by higher education institutions across England, Northern Ireland and, for the first time, Wales.

Always on the lookout for ways to use e-learning and technology to aid and enhance his students’ learning, Peter’s teaching excellence has been captured for all to see thanks to his iPhone app ‘Aspects of Anatomy’. Launched earlier this year, the app has bite-size anatomy classes which can be downloaded and used by medical students world-wide and not restricted to those lucky enough to attend his lectures at Warwick Medical School.

Professor Abrahams explained: “Technology is never going to replace good teaching, but this way, we can provide extra material using clinical cases to support their learning in a way that is accessible, timely and mobile – it really is ‘anatomy teaching on the move’ for the 21st Century.

“I am thoroughly delighted to receive the Fellowship and it is especially rewarding that my desire to improve teaching and strive for excellence and enthusiasm is recognised by the Academy.”

Even outside term time, he is busy spreading his teaching expertise and is just back from a lecturing tour in the States covering Philadelphia, Columbus Ohio and Miami as well as SGU Grenada ,West Indies where he organised a master class in anatomical dissection. The dissections performed at this master class will be used for the new 7th Edition of Mcminn/Abrahams ‘Clinical Atlas of Human Anatomy’.

Peter joins eight other University of Warwick lecturers who have previously been awarded Fellowships by the Academy including Professor Edward Peile who was also from Warwick Medical School. Peter will receive his honour at an awards dinner in London on 5 October 2011.

Profiles of all the 2011 National Teaching Fellows can be found here: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/ntfs/ntfs_2011_winners

Further information:
The app is available to purchase from the the usual iTunes Apps store outlets and costs £5.49. All profits will go back to the university to support the on going clinical anatomy teaching at the West Midlands Surgical Training Centre at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW).

Biog details:
Peter Abrahams is Professor of Clinical Anatomy at Warwick Medical School (WMS). He trained as a medic in London after teaching with VSO in the jungles of Borneo, and is passionate about how technology can enhance teaching.

Peter has always been at the vanguard of educational technology. In 1997 he was awarded the BMA electronic publishing prize for Interactive Skeleton CD-ROM. In 2005 with Craven and Lumley he won The Richard Asher Prize from the Royal Society of Medicine, for the best new medical textbook. His major educational contributions include the McMinn “Clinical Atlas of Human Anatomy” in its 6th edition and with Weir “Imaging Atlas of Human Anatomy” in its 4th edition. In 2006 the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA) recognised his contributions as its “Honoured Member - for authorship of anatomical textbooks and electronic resources in many languages”.

Peter won the Warwick Award for Teaching Excellence in his first year at the University of Warwick and has continued an established tradition of using technology to enhance the student experience. He has created educational apps to improve student engagement, is involved with the development of 3D printing for medical and educational purposes and still finds time to support his students as a senior editor on their newly launched journal - MedQuarterley - www.medquarterly.co.uk . Alongside this Peter heads up the Anatomy Section of The West Midlands Surgical Training Centre, making WMS the first in the UK to order a complete collection of plastinated prosections and cross sections for anatomy teaching.

Peter originally intended to become a surgeon but was side-tracked into anatomy after writing “Clinical Anatomy of Practical Procedures”. This led to a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Iowa. He was a Clinical Anatomist at both UCL and Cambridge before moving to his present Chair in Warwick in 2007. He is a Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge and an NHS GP two days a week. He was an anatomical consultant for WHO, and has examined and lectured doctors and surgeons from across the globe. Since 1993 he has been a part-time professor at St. Georges University, Grenada where he practices his passions of SCUBA , jungle hiking and lecturing on the history of art.

If you would like to interview Professor Abrahams call +44 (0)7703 498553 or for further information, contact Kate Cox, Communications Manager, University of Warwick on +44 (0)2476 150483/574255 or m:+44 (0)7920 531221 or kate.cox@warwick.ac.uk.