Lora Watts, PhD

Dr. Lora Talley is the Chair of the Strategic Initiatives and an Associate Professor of Anatomy at the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM). She became part of the UIWSOM faculty in July 2017 after seventeen years at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. Edward's University in 1997, and subsequently her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2004 under the mentorship of Dr. George Henderson. The title of her thesis was "Astrocytes Protect Neurons from Ethanol Induced Apoptotic Death". She completed two postdoctoral fellowships at The University of Texas Health Science Center and became a member of the graduate faculty in 2010. She was the director of both the Dental Gross Anatomy and Radiologic Anatomy and Physiology courses. She also had a vibrant research laboratory where she primarily focused on developing new treatment strategies for both stroke and traumatic brain injury with over 35 publications. She currently holds an adjunct faculty position with UT Health San Antonio in the Departments of Radiology and Cell Systems and Anatomy.

Since coming to UIWSOM, Dr. Talley has spent much of her time developing and implementing curriculum. Her primary teaching responsibilities lie in the area of human gross anatomy and neuroscience. As a teaching professor it has been her goal to motivate learners to ascertain their individual strengths and abilities and inspire them to discover what truly motivates them. It is her goal to provide a stimulating educational experience that encourages learners to trust their own opinions and to foster confidence in themselves. As Chair of Strategic Initiatives Dr. Talley is working on the development of programs to better support our student’s success.