One of the new faces in the School of Medicine's department of anatomy this year is Draga Stiblar-Martincic, a visiting professor from Slovenia.

Stiblar-Martincic is an associate professor at the University of Ljubljana Medical Faculty in Slovenia's capital and is spending a year in the anatomy department to learn more about integrated medical education.

"I would like to see and to take part in educational activities related to histology and embryology, and I would like to learn about the educational process and activities that take place in other subject areas," she said.

By learning more about how an interdisciplinary curriculum such as that of the anatomy department is applied, she plans to work toward creating a more inclusive and functional program at her own institution.

Stiblar-Martincic said she first became familiar with the CWRU anatomy program two years ago when she met several faculty members of University Hospitals of Cleveland who were visiting Ljubljana. They recommended the department as an ideal place to study integrated medical education because it offers a training program that combines biochemistry and molecular biological techniques with organ physiology and structural studies.

Stiblar-Martincic e-mailed Joseph LaManna, the acting anatomy chair, about the possibility of spending time at CWRU, and he extended an invitation to visit the department.

The opportunity to come to Cleveland eventually materialized when she received an International Fellowship in Medical Education (IFME), an award that is only given to 20 people in the world each year. IFME is sponsored by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research, which is a nonprofit foundation of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, located in Philadelphia.

The IFME program allows faculty from schools of medicine abroad to gain access to educational opportunities in the United States that are tailored toward specific home country needs. Fellows study aspects of medical education that have the potential to improve and expand medical education programs in their home country institutions and departments.

Although she specializes in the pedagogy of histology and embryology in Ljubljana, the scope of her study at CWRU is broader.

"My interest lies in the integration of normal anatomy, histology and physiology with pathology and the integration of the basic sciences with clinical medicine," she said.

The CWRU School of Medicine will remain her focus during her one-year fellowship. Stiblar-Martincic also intends to spend several weeks visiting medical schools at the University of Michigan and the University of Kentucky to expand her educational experience.

Stiblar-Martincic thanked LaManna and the School of Medicine for extending her this opportunity and for all the assistance the anatomy department has provided during her stay.

"Everyone here has been very, very helpful," she said.

Stiblar-Martincic's Web site can be found at: http://www2.mf.uni-lj.si/~stiblar.