Doctor of Medicine and Surgery (MChD) student, Ms Christina Lee, was awarded an Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists (ANZACA) Student Scholarship to attend and present her research at the ANZACA 2022 conference held at the University of Queensland in December 2022.

Ms Lee presented the results of her MChD Student Research Project that she undertook with Associate Professors Alexandra Webb and Diana Perriman.

Currently there are no established reference measurements for the 'normal' oropharynx which limits the accurate clinical interpretation of disease risk, progression and management. To address this, Christina conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the image-based morphology of the healthy oropharynx.

Ms Lee said, “Initially, the thought of going to a conference was daunting as this was my first one. However, I began to find comfort as I was immersing myself within the community, which was filled with others who were also passionate about anatomy and learning in general.”

“The broad scope of both clinical and academic content I was faced with, provided a humbling experience where I gained further insight into the importance of critical thinking particularly in the research arena,” Ms Lee added.

“The ANZACA conference motivated me to continue pursuing knowledge and provided a steppingstone to think in more critical and creative ways when approaching research.”

“The conference also emphasised the importance of everyone coming together in collaboration, encouragement, and celebration of each other’s work for the greater good of science and lifelong learning. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the community,” Ms Lee advised.

Dr Riemke Aggio-Bruce (Movers and Shakers – A model for small group-based interactive learning in Anatomy) and Associate Professor Alexandra Webb (Shape Modelling Of The Oropharynx Detects Associations with Body Morphometry) also had abstracts accepted to present at the conference while Associate Professor Krisztina Valter contributed to a workshop on Digital Anatomy with anatomy colleagues from across Australia.