Full Name
Amber Heck
Position
Associate Professor
Institution
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Bio
Dr. Amber J. Heck received her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) in Fort Worth, Texas. She has 11 years of experience in undergraduate medical education and has served in multiple leadership roles in education, research, and faculty development.
Dr. Heck began her career as a medical educator at the Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Parker, Colorado, where she discovered her interest in curriculum design and development in cell and molecular biology and physiology. She then served as founding faculty within two new medical schools, the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, and the Texas Christian University and UNTHSC School of Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas, contributing to the development of innovative, flipped classroom, active learning preclinical curricula. Throughout her career, Dr. Heck has focused her efforts on creating novel interventions to promote learner success in early medical education. She has developed a wide variety of learning experiences to ensure a strong foundational knowledge of the basic sciences relevant to clinical practice, and the non-cognitive skills necessary to succeed in medical school. Dr. Heck is active within the medical education community, and contributes to scholarship and faculty development, internationally. In 2016, she became a Fellow of the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), and in 2020 she was awarded the IAMSE Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching and Innovation. In addition to the 2022 IAMSE Program Planning Committee, she serves on the IAMSE Board of Directors, the IAMSE Educational Scholarship Committee, and as Chair of the 2023 IAMSE Program Planning Committee.
Currently, Dr. Heck is the Director of the Basic Science Curriculum at ScholarRx, where she contributes to the advancement of medical education, globally, through the development of high-quality learning tools that are engaging, faculty-friendly, patient-centered, and promote the development of the knowledge and skills necessary for future physicians to advance clinical practice.
Dr. Heck began her career as a medical educator at the Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Parker, Colorado, where she discovered her interest in curriculum design and development in cell and molecular biology and physiology. She then served as founding faculty within two new medical schools, the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, and the Texas Christian University and UNTHSC School of Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas, contributing to the development of innovative, flipped classroom, active learning preclinical curricula. Throughout her career, Dr. Heck has focused her efforts on creating novel interventions to promote learner success in early medical education. She has developed a wide variety of learning experiences to ensure a strong foundational knowledge of the basic sciences relevant to clinical practice, and the non-cognitive skills necessary to succeed in medical school. Dr. Heck is active within the medical education community, and contributes to scholarship and faculty development, internationally. In 2016, she became a Fellow of the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), and in 2020 she was awarded the IAMSE Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching and Innovation. In addition to the 2022 IAMSE Program Planning Committee, she serves on the IAMSE Board of Directors, the IAMSE Educational Scholarship Committee, and as Chair of the 2023 IAMSE Program Planning Committee.
Currently, Dr. Heck is the Director of the Basic Science Curriculum at ScholarRx, where she contributes to the advancement of medical education, globally, through the development of high-quality learning tools that are engaging, faculty-friendly, patient-centered, and promote the development of the knowledge and skills necessary for future physicians to advance clinical practice.
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