Roles
Professor, Educator Track, Cell Biology
-
Biography
Dr. Thomas H. Champney earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1984. His research investigated the role of the pineal gland and its hormone melatonin on integrative physiology. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Delaware investigating reproductive physiology and then accepted a faculty position at Texas A&M University’s College of Medicine. He spent 18 years at Texas A&M University teaching anatomy, histology and neuroanatomy to medical students while publishing over 50 research manuscripts on melatonin’s role in endocrinology, epilepsy and immune regulation. He also provided lectures on scientific ethics to graduate students and served on the Texas A&M University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
In 2003, Dr. Champney moved to St. George’s University in Grenada where he taught first year medical students histology and created a scientific ethics course that was required for all biomedical graduate students. In addition, he reviewed grants for the Office of Research Integrity that funded projects in research ethics and collaborated with investigators on objectives for research ethics courses. In 2008, he spent one year in Zurich, Switzerland, and attended seminars at the Biomedical Ethics program at the University of Zurich.
Dr. Champney accepted a faculty position at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine in 2009 to teach first year medical students gross anatomy, histology and neuroanatomy. In 2010, he took over the coordination of the South Florida Willed Body Program for the State Anatomical Board. In addition, he joined the University’s Ethics Program (now the Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy). He helps teach the Responsible Conduct of Research course as well as teaching in a graduate level Research Ethics course. He has also written a module for the online ethics education program (CITI) on conflicts of commitment and conscience. He publishes commentaries on the ethical use of human tissues, notably the use of willed bodies, and is a member of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) Medical Humanities and Ethics group. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
-
Honors & Awards
No result found
-
Teaching Interests
My teaching philosophy emphasizes involving the learner in the educational process. Active learning increases both retention and depth of knowledge. As a teacher, my job is to generate an interest for the material, to act as a facilitator for learning and to provide a mechanism or framework for assimilation of the information. Specifically, I approach the material to be taught with excitement and I provide examples for the importance and relevance of the material. In teaching medical school, this includes the use of clinical examples to highlight the importance of understanding the material presented. The anatomical information presented could be dry and just include a listing of anatomical parts that are necessary to learn. However, to increase the interest of the students and to provide further “hooks” on which to “hang” the specific knowledge, a conceptual framework for the material and specific reasons for the location and nomenclature of the material is also provided. In addition, novel and entertaining methods for presenting the material have been developed that facilitate learning.
Teaching and education are an important part of my life and are intricately entwined in my development. My mother was a high school English teacher, my brother is a college professor, three of my four sisters are teachers (from elementary to college instruction) and my daughters are both teachers. I enjoy teaching and this is evidenced by my excellent teaching evaluations and teaching awards (fourteen teaching awards during my eighteen years at Texas A&M University including both College-wide and University-wide Distinguished Teaching Awards as well as twelve Paff Excellence in Teaching Awards from the first year medical students at the University of Miami, School of Medicine over a ten year period). -
Research Interests
For over 20 years (1980 - 2003), I investigated the role of the pineal gland and its hormone, melatonin, on physiologic function in mammals. My laboratory-based research examined the ability of endocrine or pharmacologic compounds to modify the role of the pineal in seasonal reproduction. Additional experiments investigated melatonin’s anticonvulsant activity in humans and rodent models of epilepsy. I also investigated the ability of the pineal gland and melatonin to modify reproductive and immunologic competence in rodents. Finally, the role of melatonin on dopamine release from PC12 cells was investigated. These studies produced over 50 peer-reviewed publications and provided fundamental information on melatonin’s physiologic role that could lead to its use in clinical medicine.
My laboratory also provided assay services for the research community through the Neuroendocrine / Neurochemical Core Facility. This facility provided HPLC analysis of catecholamines, indoleamines, amino acids and GABA as well as radioimmunoassay (RIA) and spectrophotometric assays for over 20 serum hormones or metabolic compounds. The facility was utilized by over 40 investigators with over 20 publications acknowledging the core facility. Funding for the facility came from collaborative arrangements with users of the facility.
My current scholarly work (2008 - present) focuses on the ethical aspects of body donor and human tissue use as well as educational approaches to teaching the responsible conduct of research (RCR) to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. -
Publications
Disclaimer: The information presented in this section has been consolidated using AI and machine learning technologies. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, errors may occur. If you identify any inaccuracies, please use this link to inform our data team. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps us improve the quality of our content.
-
Professional Activities
No result found