Omid B. Rahimi, PhD

Associate Professor; UT Distinguished Teaching Professor; Director, Human Anatomy Program

Department of Cellular and Structural Biology

UT Health Science Center at San Antonio

My primary role as a teacher is to ignite the fire in my students' minds, to heighten their excitement and enthusiasm for learning, to cut through the clutter of facts, and to offer concise explanations of concepts that shape their intellectual ability toward clinical application and lifelong learning.

Effective teachers not only convey facts but alter the thought processes of learners. Their purpose, albeit to confer knowledge, is to transform minds. Plutarch said, "the mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." My primary role as a teacher is to ignite the fire in my students' minds, to heighten their excitement and enthusiasm for learning, to cut through the clutter of facts, and to offer concise explanations of concepts that shape their intellectual ability toward clinical application and life-long learning. This tremendous responsibility carries with it an incomparable reward with the opportunity to witness firsthand the transformation in the students' minds.