2025 HAPS Virtual Conference
Join us for our second HAPS Virtual Conference in October 2025!
The HAPS Virtual Conference Committee is excited to host a nine day Virtual Conference from October 11-19, 2025. We can’t wait to see you there! Check out all the information below!
Want a preview of what the meeting will be like? Watch the recording of the Sip and Explore Orientation that happened on Tuesday, October 7th.
The event will be held in Canvas (a learning management system) where you’ll have streamlined access to all activities. We are especially excited to use a flipped format with our keynote speakers and workshops, which means you can watch recorded content on your own time, and then join synchronous (and moderated) Zoom discussions with your HAPSy colleagues.
Participate in this Virtual Conference and join us for:
- The “President’s Series” keynote talks hosted by four amazing past-Presidents of HAPS
- Flipped workshops
- Virtual posters (these would be great for students!)
- Opportunities to engage with and learn more about the many HAPS Committees
- Social activities for making connections and building community
- Games and prizes! (It’s true!)
Keynote Speakers
Judi Nath
Trifecta! Teaching, Textbooks, and Truths
This presentation delves into the dynamic relationships between teaching human biology, textbook writing, and the pursuit of scientific truth, offering a unique perspective from a textbook author. Our virtual session will explore:
- Teaching in a Changing Landscape: The impact of recent higher education legislation on faculty, institutions, and society at large.
- Textbook Evolution and Development: The intricate rules and decision-making processes governing science textbook revisions.
- Truth Navigation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The educator’s guide for helping students navigate the complexities of scientific knowledge amidst the growing influence of artificial intelligence.
Participants will acquire essential strategies for success in the 2025 academic sphere.
Dee Silverthorn
Competency-based Education in Anatomy & Physiology
Competency-based education (CBE) is a relatively new approach to curriculum design whose focus is to prepare students for the workforce by defining what students should be able to do upon completion of a course or program. Competencies include skills and behaviors in addition to content knowledge, and these competencies are subdivided into specific and measurable learning outcomes. Creating a CBE course or program uses backward design: it begins with creation of the competencies and learning outcomes that should be mastered by the end of the course. Next come assessments to evaluate student mastery of the outcomes, and only at the end does the teacher decide on the instructional methods that will promote student mastery of the outcomes. In the recorded session you will be introduced to the process of creating a CBE class, including using curriculum mapping to ensure complete coverage of the learning outcomes. During the in-person virtual session we will brainstorm about the outcomes that might be expected of students in a beginning anatomy and physiology course, especially the knowledge outcomes that are seldom specified in the guidelines produced by the boards that define licensing competencies in the health professions.
Kevin Patton
The Audible Classroom: Audio Strategies to Enhance the Anatomy and Physiology Course
Audio is often an overlooked but powerful teaching tool in A&P courses. This flipped-format presentation explores practical and creative ways instructors can use short audio messages to enhance engagement, support learning, and deepen the student-instructor connection. Through a series of six short pre-session audio clips, participants will hear examples of how audio can be used in face-to-face, hybrid, and virtual classes, including podcast-style summaries, encouragement messages, and immersive audio field trips. We’ll also touch on voice persona, growth mindset, and the importance of audio accessibility. A live Zoom session will follow, where attendees can share experiences, ask questions, and experiment with ideas for their own courses. Whether you’re new to audio or looking to take it further, this session will help you add a valuable new tool to your teaching toolbox.
Kevin Petti
Connecting Art and Anatomy in Italy
The Italian peninsula offers a unique story, as its medieval universities established the study of human anatomy for physicians, while later serving as the cradle of the Renaissance. Indeed, the profound connection between art and science in Italy is beautifully demonstrated by the genius of Michelangelo, as the wooden crucifix he carved in gratitude for secret access to corpses from a convent’s hospital still hangs in the Basilica of Santo Spirito in Florence. This talk explores the nexus between art and science in Italy, examines the history of anatomy education in the first universities, discusses how the Renaissance Masters clandestinely conducted dissection to heighten their art, and considers how that knowledge influenced the world’s greatest artists such as Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael.
Join the fun run!
HAPS is offering registration for anyone interested in participating in the HAPS Fundraising Fun Run/Walk. Proceeds will go to HAPS and your very own HAPS fun run medal! Register HERE!
The deadline for submissions was August 1st, 2025. Posters will be in a virtual poster session, and workshops will be held on Zoom. Check the schedule above for more details on when the sessions will occur.