Reeves Named Outstanding Graduate Faculty Member at UNT Health Science Center
Rustin E. Reeves, PhD, assistant professor of cell biology and genetics at UNT Health Science Center, was selected by the Graduate Student Association as the 2004-05 Outstanding Graduate Faculty member.Each year, the graduate student body selects an outstanding faculty member who is invited to present, in broad terms, the history of his/her research program. The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Graduate Student Association sponsor the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Seminar Series.
Initially, Dr. Reeves planned to pursue a career in farming. He received a degree in agriculture science from Texas A & M University in 1980. In 1986, he completed the requirements for teacher certification at the University of Texas at Arlington and began his career as an educator. He spent the next six years teaching physical science, biology, honors biology and advanced placement biology for Waxahachie High School.
In 1992, he enrolled as a doctoral student in the biomedical sciences program administered by the University of North Texas at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine campus. He worked under the supervision of Patrick Cammarata, PhD, in what was then known as the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology.
Dr. Reeves received his doctoral degree through the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UNT Health Science Center in 1997. He stayed with the institution as a postdoctoral fellow and became an instructor and, later, assistant professor.
As an assistant professor, Dr. Reeves serves as course director for the graduate school’s structural anatomy program and as lab instructor for medical gross anatomy. He is the principle investigator for Schools’ Cooperative Opportunities for Resources and Education (SCORE), a program designed to train and support biomedical graduate students at the health science center. The program also serves students in the Fort Worth Independent School District by providing enhanced curriculum resources in collaboration with high school biology students and teachers. The program was recently named as an educational Healthcare Hero for 2006 by the Fort Worth Business Press.
Dr. Reeves is also the co-principle investigator for Minority K-12 Initiative for Teachers and Students (MKITS), a program designed to increase the diversity of the scientific workforce by promoting interest in science among underrepresented minority students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Dr. Reeves serves as the graduate advisor for students in the science education discipline, and he received the GSBS Rising Star Award for Research in 2003. Dr. Reeves is a council member of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists and serves on the Accelerated Science Achievement Program (ASAP) Advisory Council for the Fort Worth ISD.
He is a journal reviewer for Clinical Anatomy and a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation, Math and Science Partnership Review Panel.
Dr. Reeves volunteers with the Texas Aces Youth Hockey Program in Plano, and he judges science fairs across the Metroplex. Dr. Reeves and his wife, Sandy, reside in Allen with their children, Kristin and Kyle.
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