Associate Professor
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Varna Taranikanti, M.D., M.S., PhD
Associate Professor
OUWB School of Medicine
I joined Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine faculty in June 2018 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Foundational Medical Studies. I am currently the director of the reproductive organ systems course and the co-course director for the M4 electives. I also was the director for all the systems courses integrating anatomy with clinical sciences for three years where I helped develop the clinically integrated labs and novel team-based integrated assessments within the gross anatomy lab.
I taught in various medical schools worldwide (India, the Middle East, USA). I have a deep passion for medical education and was involved in developing the integrated outcome-based curriculum at Sultan Qaboos University Muscat, Oman. I am a trained clinical Anatomist with more than 20 years of experience in teaching all branches of Anatomy (Gross, Embryo, Micro, and Neuro) to undergraduate and postgraduate medical students. I have imparted anatomical knowledge to residents during surgical ward rounds, supervised cadaveric dissections, and conducted integrated workshops to bring clinical relevance to anatomy teaching. I have been actively involved in medical education and received my medical education fellowship from IAMSE, Oakland University USA, and ESME training from Dundee UK. I am a Mentor for the Anatomy Scholars Program (ASP) initiated by AAA.
My research Interests:
Medical education: Integrated assessments, team-based learning, Self-Directed Learning
Integration of anatomy through clinical skills and imaging
Translational research, Randomized trials
I also have a passion for translational research in breast and colon cancers. I have received the UICC fellowship in 2002 from JWCI, Santa Monica USA where I worked on the significance of biological markers in node-negative breast cancer. I am also an ICRETT fellow(2005) and worked on lymph angiogenesis in breast cancer at Cardiff University UK. ,
