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Faculty Member

Dr. Elyse Vaccaro

Biography

I graduated from Williams College, MA with dual BAs in art and biology. For my doctoral work I studied how salamander sex pheromones affect female motivated behaviors and I graduated from Oregon State University with a Ph.D. in Zoology/Integrative Biology. For my postdoctoral work, I studied how areas in the female salamander brain are activated by sex pheromones. For this, I was granted an NSF International Postdoctoral Fellowship to study in a neuroscience lab at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

I have been teaching general biology, human anatomy and physiology, and neurophysiology for 14+ years now. I love teaching both lectures and laboratories and my favorite subject is the reproductive system because while the rest of the body's systems are concerned with growth and maintenance, the reproductive system aspires to future generations. It is the visionary, innovative and (literally) creative system.

Education

Postdoctoral Research, University of Guelph, 2013

Major: Neuroscience

PhD, Oregon State University, 2011

Major: Integrative Biology

Intensive Lecture-Laboratory Course, Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole, 2008

Major: Neural Systems & Behavior

BA, Williams College, 1999

Major: Biology and Art

Teaching

ZOOL 2320

Human Anatomy, Spring 2026

ZOOL 2320

Human Anatomy, Spring 2026

ZOOL 2320

Human Anatomy, Spring 2026

ZOOL 2320

Human Anatomy, Spring 2026

ZOOL 2320H

Human Anatomy, Spring 2026

BIOL 4890R

Student Research, Spring 2026

BIOL 4890R

Student Research, Spring 2026

Presentations

Vaccaro, Elyse (Presenter & Author), Spurlock, Megan (Presenter & Author), HAPS 40th Annual Conference 2026, "Normal isn’t Neutral_ How Health Education Reflects Body Bias in Future Healthcare Providers", Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS. (May, 2026)
Vaccaro, Elyse (Presenter & Author), Spurlock, Megan (Presenter & Author), HAPS 40th Annual Conference 2026, "Workshop: Unmasking Preconceptions_ A Critical Audit of Anatomy Textbooks | NORMA_ An Inclusive Curriculum Audit Tool", Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS), Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS. (May, 2026)
Bybee, Sicely (Presenter & Author), Koopman, Kortney (Presenter & Author), Wiseman, Ashlee (Co-Author), Vaccaro, Elyse (Co-Author), Spurlock, Megan (Co-Author), National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), "The Invisible Patients_ Visual and Textual Representation of Human Diversity in Anatomy and Physiology Textbooks", Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), Richmond, VA. (March 15, 2026)
Marshall, Aaron (Presenter & Author), Spurlock, Megan (Co-Author), Vaccaro, Elyse (Co-Author), Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR), "How Perceptions of Fitness and Health Shape Judgments of Normalcy and Typicalness in Pre-Health Students", Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), Weber State University, Ogden, UT. (February 27, 2026)
Wiseman, Ashlee (Presenter & Author), Vaccaro, Elyse (Co-Author), Spurlock, Megan (Co-Author), Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR), "Representation in Healthcare", Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), Weber State University, Ogden, UT. (February 27, 2026)
Koopman, Kortney (Presenter & Author), Vaccaro, Elyse (Co-Author), Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR), "Seeing Ourselves in Science_ Evaluating Diversity in Reproductive Anatomy Education", Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), Weber State University, Ogden, UT. (February 27, 2026)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Vaccaro, Elyse , Spurlock, Megan , "NORMA: A Curriculum Audit for Inclusive Anatomy Education" .
Vaccaro, Elyse , Houck, Lynne D, "Meta-analysis of courtship experiments on terrestrial salamanders provides novel insights into mating strategies" .
Vaccaro, Elyse , Houck, Lynne D, "Pheromone components elicit distinct responses in female salamanders to sexual and nonsexual stimuli" .
Parker, Claire , Jensen, David , Vaccaro, Elyse , (2025) "Implicit Bias in Early Healthcare Education" (Issue: 2025 ). https://www.ucur.org/abstracts/2025-abstracts/implicit-bias-in-early-healthcare-education
Eddy, Sarah L, Vaccaro, Elyse , Baggett, Christine L, Kiemnec-Tyburczy, Karen M, (2015) "Sperm mass longevity and sperm storage in the female reproductive tract of Plethodon shermani" (Issue: 3, vol. 71). Herpetologica. http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-14-00059
Vaccaro, Elyse , (2011) "Pheromone mechanisms and behavioral strategies for maximizing courtship success in a terrestrial salamander, Plethodon shermani" . Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University. https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/ks65hg505?locale=en

Awards

Honors Faculty Fellowship

Honors Program, UVU - April 25, 2024

For this award, I completed the following activities with the Honors Program_
- Developed and taught a new seminar course Fall 2024, HONR 2100_ the History of the Body.
- Organized guest lecture for honors program_ Normality, Spectacle, and Control_ Constructing and exploiting the meanings of human bodily difference in Britain & the United States by Rachel Mason Dentinger, Professor of the History of Science at the University of Utah
- Organized the History of the Body Trivia + Film Series_ three anatomy-outreach events with pub-style trivia, prizes, and films that explore our relationship with the human body.
- Prepared promotional materials to share these events with students.
- Serves on the Honors Program Steering Committee, assisting with program admissions and operations.

Core Faculty Status

Westminster College

International Research Postdoctoral Fellowship

U.S. National Science Foundation

McKenzie Endowment Graduate Award

Gamma Sigma Delta

Aline D. Gross Scholarship

Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole

Bruce Family Research Grant in Herpetology

HBS Board of Scientific Advisors