Associate Professor, Teaching Stream

Barbara Ballyk

Anatomy

B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.,

(416) 978-3694

(416) 978-3844

Address

Anatomy - MSB, Rm 1160, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 1A8

Dr. Ballyk is from St. Catharines, Ontario. She completed her B.Sc. in Life Sciences, her M.Sc. in Anatomy and her Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Queen’s University. For the Faculty of Arts and Science, Dr. Ballyk is the Course Director of ANA200H, Human Visceral Anatomy, ANA300Y, Human Anatomy and Histology and ANA400F, Anatomy Dissection. Until recently, she was the Faculty Lead for Anatomy for the M.D. Program.

Dr. Ballyk has won numerous major teaching awards. She has three times won the W.T. Aikins Award, the Faculty of Medicine’s “most prestigious award for sustained commitment to, and excellence in, undergraduate teaching” in the M.D. Program. Her Aikins awards have been in the categories of Individual Teaching Performance, Large Group (2011, 2017) and for Course/Program Development and Coordination (2015). She was chosen by the graduating MD class of 2017 to receive the E Mary Hollington Teaching Award for “excellence in preclinical or basic science teaching", and by the graduating MD class of 2019 to receive the Class of 8T9 Medical Alumni Award for “acting as a role model and for displaying outstanding compassion, understanding and guidance to undergraduate medical students.” For her teaching of ANA300Y she received the Faculty of Medicine’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in Life Sciences (2013).

M.D. Program, Foundations Curriculum

As the former Faculty of Medicine Lead for Anatomy, Dr. Ballyk incorporated human gross anatomy, histology and neuroanatomy into the Foundations Curriculum by aligning topics in anatomy with the content of the various courses that make up the two-year preclerkship curriculum within the M.D. Program. This approach integrates anatomical knowledge with other basic sciences and with clinical content, thereby creating a more meaningful and relevant educational experience for M.D. students. For the Foundations Curriculum, Dr. Ballyk developed 39 custom-built, interactive online modules and coordinated them with over 100 hours of practical laboratory sessions.

Recent Publications

Koucheki, R., Lex, J.R., Morozova, A., Ferri, D., Mauer, T.M., Mirzaie, S., Ferguson, P.C. and Ballyk, B., "Immersive Virtual Reality and Cadaveric Bone are Equally Effective in Skeletal Anatomy Education: A Randomized Crossover Noninferiority Trial", Journal of Surgical Education, 2023 July, 80(7) 1028+1038.

H. S. Maresky, A. Oikonomou, I. Ali, N. Ditkofsky, M. Pakkal, and B. Ballyk. Virtual Reality and Cardiac Anatomy: Exploring immersive three-dimensional cardiac imaging, a pilot study in undergraduate medical anatomy education. Clinical Anatomy. 2019 March, 32(2) 238-242.

Most Significant Publication

Vernon R J Clarke, Barbara A Ballyk, Ken H Hoo, Allan Mandelzys, Andrew Pellizzari, Catherine P Bath, Justyn Thomas, Erica F Sharpe, Ceri H Davies, Paul L Ornstein, Darryle D Schoepp, Rajender K Kamboj, Graham L Collingridge, David Lodge and David Bleakman. A hippocampal GluR5 kainate receptor regulating inhibitory synaptic transmission. Nature. 1997 389:599-603.

Honours and Awards

2021-22 2019-20 2017-18	Teaching Excellence Award University of Toronto MD Program, Faculty of Medicine This award recognizes faculty in the MD Program who have attained Teaching Evaluation Scores in the top 10% in one or more of the teaching activities to which they have contributed.
2019	The Class of 8T9 Medical Alumni Award Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Annually, one recipient is chosen by the graduating MD class for “acting as a role model, for displaying outstanding compassion, understanding and guidance to undergraduate medical students.”
2017	W.T. Aikins Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching within the Faculty of Medicine, Large Group Category Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto The W. T. Aikins Awards “are the Faculty’s most prestigious awards for sustained commitment to, and excellence in, undergraduate teaching…This teaching award is given serious consideration in the academic promotions process.”
2017	E. Mary Hollington Teaching Award for Excellence in Preclinical or Basic Sciences Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Annually, one recipient is chosen by the graduating MD class for having “taught with distinction in the preclinical or basic science portion of the curriculum.”
2015	W.T. Aikins Award for Excellence in Course/Program Development and Coordination in Undergraduate Medical Education Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto The W. T. Aikins Awards “are the Faculty’s most prestigious awards for sustained commitment to, and excellence in, undergraduate teaching…This teaching award is given serious consideration in the academic promotions process.”
2013	Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in Life Sciences Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto “This award is for sustained excellence in teaching, coordination and/or development of undergraduate lecture or seminar courses in Arts and Science offered by the Basic Science Departments in the Faculty of Medicine.”
2011	W.T. Aikins Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching within the Faculty of Medicine, Large Group Category Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto The W. T. Aikins Awards “are the Faculty’s most prestigious awards for sustained commitment to, and excellence in, undergraduate teaching…This teaching award is given serious consideration in the academic promotions process.”
2002-2010	Best Professor Bachelor of Physical Activity and Health, Kinesiology, University of Toronto Chosen as “Best Professor” by students in the first year of the Program each of the 9 years as Course Director

Courses

Course Number: ANA200H

Course Name: Human Visceral Anatomy

Course Description: This course introduces students to the gross anatomy of human visceral systems.

Course Number: ANA300Y

Course Name: Human Anatomy and Histology

Course Description: Structure of the human body and its relationship to function. Basic human histology, gross anatomy and neuroanatomy.

Course Number: ANA400H

Course Name: Anatomy Dissections

Course Description: A focused series of Anatomical dissections will be made, and the surgical implications of the findings will be the subject of seminars. Attitudes to dissection of the human body, complications of surgery and other relevant issues will be discussed.