Physiology and Anatomy
Welcome to the Department of Physiology and Anatomy at UNT Health Fort Worth. The department is committed to excellence in research, education, and service. Department faculty have diverse areas of expertise and offer a collegial and collaborative environment to promote discovery and scholarship. The department is also home to the Center for Anatomical Sciences.
Research
The Physiology and Anatomy faculty maintain active research programs in the following areas:
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Graduate Studies
The department provides high quality graduate training for students seeking to become scholars and educators in the fields of physiology and anatomy, or those seeking to enter careers in applied research, government, or private industry. Graduate degrees (MS, PhD) and dual degrees (DO/PhD and PharmD/PhD) are offered through two departmental graduate programs:
Both programs boast small student/faculty ratios, advanced area-specific courses, and extensive hands-on training via research, teaching, and outreach activities. The department takes great pride in providing an innovative and supportive educational environment for all trainees.
Mission, Vision, and Values
Mission: Perform state-of-the-art anatomic and physiologic research and education to enhance human health and prepare our trainees for careers in biomedical sciences and healthcare professions.
Vision: To acquire and disseminate an enhanced understanding of physiologic and anatomic processes within the human condition and develop novel therapeutic strategies to combat disease.
Values: Commitment, Achievement, Diversity, Resilience, and Excellence.
Departmental News
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September 15, 2026Dr. Steven Romero & Dr. Gregory Dick were awarded an NIH R21 Grant: "Voltage-Dependent K+ Channels and Microvascular Control in Humans" (Grant #R21AG103379).
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September 9, 2026Recent PhD graduate, Dr. Viet Dinh, was named a 2026-2028 New York State Science Policy Fellow by the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
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September 1, 2026Dr. Rong Ma was promoted to Regents Professor.
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September 1, 2026Dr. Kate Lesciotto was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure.
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September 1, 2026Dr. Taylor Polvadore joined the department as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Polvadore’s research focuses on locomotor and feeding biomechanics.
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August 17, 2026Dr. Ellen Fricano joined the department as an Associate Professor. Dr. Fricano’s research focuses on the use of 3D imaging techniques in forensic anthropology and evolutionary biology.
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August 3, 2026Dr. Hannah Farrell joined the Department as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Farrell’s research focuses on relationships between anatomy and locomotor biomechanics.
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July 14, 2026UNT Health Newsroom coverage of PhD candidate Baonhu Tran's doctoral research funded by the National Science Foundation, Leakey Foundation, and Wenner Gren Foundation. "CBTS student earns multiple grants to support human thermoregulation research" UNT Health Newsroom |
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July 1, 2026PhD candidate Indya Thompson co-authored an article in Science: Age and early life adversity shape heterogeneity of the epigenome across tissues in macaques. Science 392.6808 (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.aea4922 |
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May 12, 2026UNT Health Newsroom coverage of Drs. Scott Maddux and Elizabeth Cho's thermoregulatory research funded by the National Science Foundation. "How the human body adapts to extreme environments" UNT Health Newsroom |
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April 1, 2026Dr. Steven Romero received an Bridge Transformational Project Award from the American Heart Association entitled" "Home-Based Heat Therapy to Reduce AD/ADRD Risk in Older Adults: A Pilot Biomarker Study" (Grant #26BTPA1622782). |
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February 6, 2026Dr. Caroline Rickards received the 2026 Presidential Service Award from the American Physiological Society |
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November 24, 2025Postdoctoral Associate, Dr. Subash Sapkota, has been awarded an Interdisciplinary Research Leadership Fellowship through the UNT Health Institute for Health Disparities.
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November 14, 2025UNT Health Fort Worth hosted the 14th annual international meeting of the Cerebrovascular Research Network (CARnet). Dr. Caroline Rickards was this year's conference organizer. UNT Health News Release. |
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August 19, 2025Media coverage of Dr. Kate Lesciotto‘s recent collaborative grant from the National Institute of Justice: “MOSAIC: Unifying Methods of Sex, Stature, Affinity & Age for Identification through Computational Standardization.” "UNT Health idea and $2M grant fuel AI forensics tool to help solve missing persons cases" Dallas Innovates |
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July 30, 2025PhD candidate Baonhu Tran received a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (DDRIG) from the National Science Foundation to support her dissertation project: “Re-evaluating the role of the respiratory system in human thermoregulation.” |
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July 3, 2026Dr. Rong Ma was awarded an NIH RO1 Grant: "A new inflammation pathway in diabetic kidney disease" (Grant #5R01DK142617-02).
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June 3, 2025Inaugural cohort of undergraduate students joins the HSC Pulse: Undergraduate Research Training Program, a 10-week training program supported by a grant from the American Heart Association awarded to Dr. Paula Gregory. |
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April 8, 2025Dr. Mark Cunningham named to Fort Worth's "40 under 40" List, which recognizes outstanding individuals in Greater Fort Worth who have defied the impediments of youth and made significant strides in their respective fields. |