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Caitlin A. Howe

Caitlin A. Howe, PhD

Associate Professor


Department: Neurobiology & Anatomy

Education

  • PhD in Human Anatomy - Pennsylvania State University (2017)
  • BS in Kinesiology - James Madison University (2013)

Awards & Honors

  • Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching Award, 2026 
  • Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, Drexel University College of Medicine, Winner 2020, Nominated 2021, Winner 2022 (x2), Winner 2024, Nominated 2025
  • Angelo Pinto Educator Award, Drexel University College of Medicine, Nominated 2022, Winner 2024
  • Developing and Elevating Leaders with Tools for Advancement (DELTA) Fellow, American Association for Anatomists, 2023
  • Mary DeWitt Pettit, MD, Fellowship, WMC-MCP Trust Committee, Drexel University College of Medicine, 2021
  • Medical Educator Award, Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, 2020
  • APSselect Award, American Physiological Society, 2019
  • Open and Affordable Textbooks (OAT) Award, Rutgers University, 2018
  • Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award, Penn State University, 2017
  • Caroline tum Suden/Francis A. Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Award, American Physiological Society, 2017
  • Central Nervous System Van Harreveld Memorial Award for Research, American Physiological Society, 2016

Memberships / Professional Affiliations

  • American Association for Anatomists, 2013 – present
  • American Physiological Society, 2015 – 2017

Caitlin Howe, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy at Drexel University College of Medicine. She completed her PhD in anatomy at Penn State College of Medicine. Before arriving at Drexel, she was an instructor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Dr. Howe teaches Gross Anatomy, Embryology, Microanatomy and Neuroscience in the first-year medical courses at Drexel University College of Medicine. In addition to medical courses, she teaches graduate-level Neuroanatomy. Her leadership roles include:

  • Anatomical Sciences thread director in the Molecules to Organs, Human Structure & Function 1 and Human Structure & Function 2 courses at the Philadelphia campus.
  • Co-course director of the Human Structure & Function 2 course.
  • Previously the course director for the 4th year Gross Anatomy Teaching Elective and Summer Human Gross Anatomy course for first-year Arcadia University DPT students.

Her recent efforts include creating several resources to supplement the gross anatomy lab, such as the dissection guide, dissection videos and 3D scans of dissections.

She has also coordinated multiple outreach events for military personnel and first responders, bringing them to the College of Medicine to learn anatomy and practice lifesaving techniques in the Gross Anatomy lab.

Research Interests

Learning strategies and technology in medical education

Research

Dr. Howe’s recent research focuses on innovative classroom approaches and the integration of technology in medical education. She specializes in 3D scanning and collaborates with students to create virtual 3D models of donor body dissections, which are curated in the 3D SCANanatomy Lab repository. She also studies their educational impact and contributes many of these models as open-access resources for use by other institutions. Dr. Howe has additionally been involved in a variety of student-led research projects, including those examining emotional support services in dissection-based courses and publications on anatomical variations.

Prior to her work in medical education and anatomical research, Dr. Howe studied inhibitory GABAergic and glycinergic currents in neurons of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) in perinatal high-fat-diet rat models. Her research suggested that exposure to a perinatal high-fat diet leads to prolonged glycinergic activity in DMV neurons extending into adulthood, resulting in increased overall inhibitory tone and altered gastric tone and motility. These findings point to dysregulated parasympathetic vagal control of gastric function, which may contribute to a higher incidence of obesity and related comorbidities in this population.

In the Media

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Open Access Educational Resources

Virtual 3D Scans of Whole Brain & Whole Brain Dissections (6 scans)
Howe CA, Frank PW, & O'Hara S
Global Neuroanatomy Network. Published March 2025

Dissection Demonstration and Dissection Review Videos (51 videos)
Howe CA
Virtual Dissection Database. Published August 2021

Journal Publications

“A Practical Examination and Feedback Survey Evaluating Learners Taught Using Physical Prosections vs. 3D Models of Prosections of the External Heart”
Waldman SA, Sejdiu Z, O’Hara S, Shumsky JS, Howe CA
Frontiers of Digital Education. 2 (3): 27, March 2025

"Variation of the Brachial Artery Emerging through an Opening in the Median Nerve: A Case Report."
Rutkowski WE, Howe CA
Surg Radiol Anat. 45(9):1135-1138. September 2023

"Promotion of Cadaver-Based Military Trauma Education: Integration of Civilian and Military Trauma Systems"
Howe CA, Ruane BM, Latham SE, Sahu N
Mil Med. 185(1-2): e23-e27. February 2020

"Perinatal High Fat Diet Alters Development of GABAA Receptor Subunits in the Dorsal Motor Nucleus of the Vagus"
Clyburn C, Howe CA, Arnold A, Lang C, Travagli RA, Browning KN
Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 317: G40–G50, May 2019

"High Fat Diet During the Perinatal Period Induces Loss of Myenteric Nitrergic Neurons and Increases Enteric Glial Density, Prior to the Development of Obesity"
McMenamin CA, Clyburn C, Browning KN
Neuroscience. 393:369-380, November 2018

"Perinatal High Fat Diet Increases Inhibition of Dorsal Motor Nucleus of the Vagus Neurons Regulating Gastric Functions"
McMenamin CA, Travagli RA, Browning KN
J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 30(1), January 2018

"Developmental regulation of inhibitory synaptic currents in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus in the rat"
McMenamin CA, Anselmi L, Travagli RA, Browning KN
Journal of Neurophysiol. 116(4):1705-1714, October 2016

"Inhibitory Neurotransmission Regulates Vagal Efferent Activity and Gastric Motility"
McMenamin CA, Travagli RA, Browning KN
Experimental Biology and Medicine. 241(12): 1343-50, June 2016

"Highlights in Basic Autonomic Neurosciences: Diet-induced Enteric, Vagal and Brainstem Dysfunction"
McMenamin CA, Browning KN
Autonomic Neuroscience. 186: 1-4, December 2014


Contact Information


Academic Office

Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy
Health Sciences Building
60 N. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104