Creating a Global Anatomy Community

Beverley Kramer obtained her degrees at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa. She was appointed as the Head of Anatomy in the Department of General Anatomy (Wits Faculty of Dentistry) (1987-1995), and subsequently as Head of the School of Anatomical Sciences (Wits Faculty of Health Sciences) (1996- 2003) when the two Faculties amalgamated. She also held the position of Assistant Dean for Research and Postgraduate Support in the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences (2008-2016).

Beverley was awarded the J.F van Reenen Award for teaching on two occasions and has co-authored three textbooks for students. She has published in the fields of developmental biology, anatomy education and research management. Despite being retired, Beverley continues to supervise postgraduate students and also mentors both early career and senior staff members which she feels is of great importance. Through her commitment to early career academics, she initiated the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) “President’s Emergent Anatomists Programme” in 2018, a programme that supports young anatomists from all over the globe. Professor Kramer was Director of the Carnegie-Wits Alumni Diaspora Programme (2013-2022), a programme which she initiated to “bring home” Alumni from the Diaspora to undertake research collaborations at Wits. Beverley is the recipient of awards, such as the “Anatomist Excellence Award (2012) and the Leonardo da Vinci Award (2021) from the International Committee of Symposia on Morphological Sciences (ICSMS). She was also awarded the prestigious South African Department of Science and Technology/SARIMA award (2015) for “distinguished contributions to the research management profession”. She has had the following Fellowships conferred upon her: Honorary Fellow of the Anatomical Society of the United Kingdom (2015), Fellow of the American Association of Anatomists (2017) and Fellow of the Anatomical Society of Nigeria (2018). She is a past-President of the Anatomical Society of Southern Africa and serves on the Board of the International Committee of the Symposium on Morphological Sciences. Beverley is currently in her second term as President of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA).