Dr Anna Morgan

Contact

Email: a.morgan@kingston.ac.uk
Location: Penrhyn Road
Faculty: Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education
School: School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry
Department: Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

About

After completing my PhD in pharmacology at the Sackler Institute for Pulmonary Pharmacology at King's College London (2011), I was awarded the C. W. Maplethorpe Fellowship through the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science KCL (2012). During my time as a postdoctoral fellow, my research on respiratory nanotoxicity shed light on the role of nanomaterials in pulmonary drug delivery.

An interest in science communication led me to my current role as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kingston University London, where I have been part of the pharmacology teaching team since 2015, becoming Course Director in 2021.

My research pursuits now centre around STEM education, embedding transferrable skills and closing the attainment gap for pharmacology and life sciences students. Previous collaborations with Dr Huda Morgan and Dr Nati Garrio-Mesa have included SADRAS funding to investigate students' understanding of soft skills, and perceptions of learning opportunities. More recently I have led a collaboration with Kingston University's HackCentre (Education, Academic Services) to develop and deliver online Enterprise workshops in support of Kingston's blended learning approach to providing an enhanced learning experience.

Academic responsibilities

Senior Lecturer in Physiology and Pharmacology

Qualifications

Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA)
PhD Pharmacology, King's College London
MSc Equine Science, Aberystwyth University, Wales
BSc Pharmacology, honours, King's College London
BSc Psychology, summa cum laude, St Edward's University, Austin, Texas, USA

Teaching and learning

As Module Leader for LS4004 Human Physiology, I have responsibility for a large cohort of students including pharmacology, nutrition, biomedical sciences, and biological sciences degrees. Students join us at Level 4 from a wide variety of backgrounds, and I have been investigating how we can improve academic engagement and module performance through the use of formative (practice) assessments. Our in-house research has shown that students who engage in formal practice work are significantly more likely to progress. Building on this research, I am now investigating how students backgrounds influence their percentions of, and engagement with, learning opportunities across the module with a view to recognizing and removing barriers to access.

Based on the success of rigorous use of formative assessments at Level 4, I have been working with the pharmacology teaching team to implement systematic formative assessment across the programme. Early results suggest that formative work is also of value at Levels 5 and 6, and provides students with opportunities for further feedback.

Undergraduate courses taught

Postgraduate courses taught

Cancer Biology MSc

Research

In the past my research has centered around in-vivo pharmacology of inflammation, nanotoxicity, and respiratory functions. This has included collaborations with the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland, and the Sackler Institute of Pulmonary Pharmacology at King's College London.

Currently my focus has shifted to non-animal models, to investigate the effects of anti-oxidants, serotonergic drugs, and neutraceuticals on learning and memory circuits in Lymnaea stagnalis (Great Pond Snails). This has included lab and literature based investigations, supporting undergraduate and masters research projects.