A Commitment to Student Engagement: Dr. Kamla Ahluwalia, Department Chair of Health Sciences at Samuel Merritt University

Picture an anatomy professor on stage in front of more than a hundred students, pounding his chest like a gorilla to bring a lecture on locomotion to life. For Dr. Kamla Ahluwalia, watching her grad school mentor do exactly that was the moment she realized "this is what school is supposed to be like."

Decades later, that same commitment to engagement has earned Ahluwalia -- who teaches anatomy at Samuel Merritt University -- top honors in the Anatomy and Physiology category in the 2026 Raise the Line Faculty Awards from Elsevier Health. Winners were selected from more than 1,000 nominations submitted by students and colleagues at over 300 institutions worldwide.

In this lively and inspiring conversation with host Lindsey Smith, Dr. Ahuwalia reflects on what this recognition means and on her commitment to a creative and compelling approach to teaching: "Having fun is important in school. It makes it easier to learn."

Tune in to also hear Dr. Ahluwalia on:

• The power of hearing from former students;
• Bringing virtual reality headsets and AI into the anatomy program;
• What she has learned from her students about effective teaching.

Mentioned in this episode:

Samuel Merritt College of Health Sciences

If you like this podcast, please share it on your social channels. You can also subscribe to the series and check out all of our episodes at www.osmosis.org/podcast