Cal Hisley, Ph.D.
Director, Anatomical Graduate Studies
Professor of Preclinical Sciences
chisley@wmcarey.edu
(601) 318-6315
Dr. Kenneth Hisley has over 20 years of experience in the investigating and teaching the anatomical sciences. Dr. Hisley earned his MS in Anatomy in 1996 and his Ph.D. in Anatomy in 2000 from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, both from the Dental School there. His doctoral dissertation investigation, performed in the Department of Radiology in the UM School of Medicine, involved the application of cardiac-gated magnetic resonance imaging to characterizing the morphology and hemodynamics of the human carotid bifurcation as potential diagnostic signs of blood flow pulsatility – one cause of plaque accumulation.
After his receiving his Ph.D., Dr. Hisley remained in the Department of Radiology as an Assistant Professor until 2007, investigating the automatic detection and characterization of volumetric pathological lesions in the liver and brain using image analysis of CT and MRI image sets. He also taught basic and clinical anatomical imaging for the Dental School, the School of Physical Therapy and the Department of radiation Therapy. Additionally, during this time, Dr. Hisley continued his interest in the application of imaging and analysis to anatomical education effectiveness in the Medical School and Radiology Department. His work here involved the contrast and comparison of knowledge types gained from physical dissection vs. digital dissection. This led to potentially-new techniques for improving the role of digital dissection within standard first-year.
Dr. Hisley taught at two DO medical schools from 2007 to 2015 before coming to William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2015. At Des Moines University as an Assistant Professor, taught gross anatomy, neuroanatomy and embryology, and medical imaging. He also set up a direct network link for clinical images to the Radiology Department of a major local hospital and assisted there in efforts to understand the clinical applications of fMRI. He also collaborated actively with the Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC) at Iowa State University on immersive projects dealing with anatomical identification. Finally, at DMU, he designed a system for linking simulated auscultation exercises with anatomical viewpoints in real-time for first- and second-year students and submitted a patent application for this idea. At Touro University-California as an Associate professor, he developed methods for the integration of imaging, including ultrasound, into the dissection laboratory experience. He also continued his work in dissection laboratory progress tracking.
At William Carey, Dr. Hisley is continuing his work teaching the anatomical sciences for both clinical and pre-clinical students, including his role as Course Director of Anatomy in the Masters of Biomedical Sciences program. His main academic mission at WCUCOM involves the comprehensive integration of medical imaging into the curriculum and the initiation of the Radiology Club. His imaging research investigations for generating complex digital 3D models of anatomical regions and fascial configurations with several departments continues.
