Karissa Legleiter

Programs and Courses Taught

Instructor of Record: 

OT 710 Anatomy and Physiology 

OT 710L Anatomy and Physiology 

OT 610 Anatomy and Physiology 

OT 610L Anatomy and Physiology 

PM 701 Human Anatomy I 

PM 710 Human Anatomy II 

BSCI 015/016 Human Anatomy 

Team Taught Course:

N757A Advanced Anatomy

Physiology & Pathophysiology I 

N757B Advanced Anatomy, Physiology & Pathophysiology I 

Previously Taught Courses: 

OT718 Functional Neuroscience 

PT 723 Gross Anatomy I (lab instructor) 

PT 725 Gross Anatomy II (lab Instructor) 

PA 601 Human Gross Anatomy (lab instructor)

About Me

As an assistant professor at Samuel Merritt University, I have been the instructor of record for numerous gross anatomy courses. I have had the privilege to teach in many degree-granting programs at SMU, including undergraduate, physical therapy, physician assistant, occupational therapy, nursing, and podiatry. This provides a beautiful challenge to find new teaching strategies and techniques to engage with the different cohorts I teach. With each of my courses, I am responsible for instructing gross and clinical anatomy, basic physiology, neuroanatomy, embryology, and a refresher of histology. The podiatric medical anatomy course involves a rigorous cadaveric dissection component for each human body region. The occupational therapy and undergraduate courses use prosected cadavers, and for several years, I was responsible for managing and mentoring previous anatomy students through the dissection process to prepare dissections for our new academic year.

Education

I received my Doctorate in Education from the College of Saint Mary's where I focused on anatomical education research. I completed my Master's in Biological Anthropology from Wichita State University.

Teaching Interests

Human Gross Anatomy 

Embryology Physiology

Scholarly Interests

• Curriculum design
• Integration of technology in anatomy lecture and laboratory courses
• Implementation of adult learning strategies into undergraduate and graduate courses
• Anatomical variations

Publications

Legleiter, K & Ferrer, E (2024) Should we be teaching more anatomical variations in the medical curriculum? A case study with the subscapular artery. Poster Presentation, Annual Meeting for American Association of Anatomy. March 24th, 2024 Legleiter, K. (2023). 

Occupational Therapy Graduate Students’, Recent Graduates’, and Educators’ Perceptions of the Value of Anatomy Knowledge. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education. “Donald Matz, T. Bucky Jones, Hassan Azari, Stephanie Belovich, Annette Krichgessner, Mark Grumet, Arthur Washburn, Matthew Wedel, Karissa Legleiter. Curricular Guide for Podiatric Medical Education; content area general anatomy. AACPM Council of Faculties, 2023” Legleiter, K. (2022). 

Occupational Therapy Graduate Students’, Recent Graduates’, and Educators’ Perceptions of the Utility Value of Anatomy Knowledge (Publication No. 29259772) [Doctoral dissertation, College of Saint Mary]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Ferrer E, Legleiter K (2023). 

Improving gross anatomy learning in the podiatric anatomy lab with the use of peer teaching. 2023 Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology. American Association for Anatomy. Virtual. March 25, 2023.

Legleiter K, Kimpo RR, and Puder B (2022). Best Practices and Student Preferences for Implementing iPads into an Occupational Therapy Anatomy Laboratory. 

2022 Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology. American Association for Anatomy. Philadelphia, PA. April 3, 2022. Legleiter K (2022). Occupational Therapy Graduate Students’, Recent Graduates’, and Educators’ Perceptions of the Utility Value of Anatomy Knowledge. 

Winter Poster Session, Samuel Merritt University. Online. February 24, 2022. Puder B, Ahluwalia K, Guzman B, Legleiter K, Lewis C, Smith M (2021). 

Best Practices in Anatomical Sciences Education. Spring Scholarship Symposium, Samuel Merritt University. Online. March 26, 2021.

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

American Association of Anatomical Sciences

Community Service

I am continuously interested in sharing my love and passion for anatomical sciences with the community. By doing so, I have hosted many workshops for local community, high school, and national groups. Each organization that visits the SMU anatomy laboratory works with an anatomy faculty that creates an individualized anatomy program for students to learn more about anatomy and medical occupations. Many of the workshops I lead aim to create a hands-on learning experience that combines cadaveric specimens and technology. My passion is inspiring future health professionals through cadaveric learning.

Honors & Awards

Teaching with Technology Grant. Samuel Merritt University 2017, 2018
University Small Research Grant. Kansas State University 2015