Welcome Dr. Prisca Noble

By way of France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Dr. Prisca Noble has landed at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University with her recent appointment as associate teaching professor in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology. Onboard since July 1, she is the course director for Anatomy II and will teach both Anatomy I and II. She brings a wealth of experience in integrated curriculums and research on cognitive loads on veterinary students.

Originally from Nantes, France, Dr. Noble’s interest in veterinary medicine came about during her teenage years when she was an avid horseback rider. She says, “I was always enticed by the locomotion of horses. As time passed, my interest broadened into other areas, including the education of veterinary science.

After completing her licence degree in biology at the University of Nantes in 1999, she spent the next decade at Liege University in Belgium, where she earned three more degrees—her D.V.M., Master of Veterinary Science, and Ph.D. Her doctoral studies focused on the biomechanics of equine digits and the internal constraints (contact force, friction coefficient) within joints.

During her time at Liege University, Dr. Noble also worked as a teaching assistant delivering all the anatomy practical classes to second-year veterinary students and developing digital teaching technologies, including a CD-ROM on the anatomy of the horse, and a website on the comparative anatomy of the dog, cow, and horse, to assist students in the anatomy lab.  

After wrapping up her Ph.D. in 2010, Dr. Noble accepted a position as anatomy demonstrator at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in London. She notes that Liege University has a classical curriculum, meaning course disciplines are taught separately. RVC was her first exposure to an integrated curriculum, an interdisciplinary approach to learning that connects theory with practical activities designed to prepare students for real-life challenges they will face in the professional world.

Dr. Noble describes RVC as a leader in integrated curriculums, a method of teaching that resonated with her. She developed an expertise in integrated curriculums over her time at RVC before being appointed as a lecturer (and later senior lecturer) teaching veterinary anatomy at James Cook University (JCU) in Queensland, Australia.

At JCU, Dr. Noble was tasked with setting up an integrated anatomy curriculum. She built up the program and taught veterinary anatomy at JCU from 2012 through this past spring semester. At the same time, to better understand the anatomy curriculum changes on student performance and their perception of learning,  she developed a research project analyzing students’ cognitive load and performance associated with learning anatomy content. This research was partnered with JCU’s psychology department to help devise and validate the psychometric tests.

“We tracked cognitive loads using a psychometric test on students’ perception of learning, looking at teaching methods and what’s beneficial for students on how they feel in regards to their learning,” she says.

Her research supported her certitude in the competence-based veterinary education approach. She explains, “We found that students were much less confident and that learning decreased if there was less hand-on activity. Students need practical experience.”

Her research ties directly into the integrated curriculum she helped establish for the veterinary anatomy program at JCU. “Our program is practical-oriented, students train for being able to work on their own. Once they’ve earned their bachelor of veterinary science and are on the market, professionally they are ready to work.”

After a dozen years at JCU, Dr. Noble was ready for her next challenge. “I felt quite finished with what I had to do over there. I set up the anatomy program, and JCU’s accredited veterinary professional program now tops the nation in most of the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) federal survey of graduates. Today it is ranked as best overall in Australia and best for skills development, teaching practices, staff-student interactions, full-time employment, and median salaries at graduation. I had a good team to run the anatomy program on their own, and I could go on and do something else.”

Dr. Noble was drawn to Cummings School’s integrated and practical-oriented curriculum that is currently in an expansion stage as the number of veterinary students in the D.V.M. program continues to grow each year—an effort to which she can lend her expertise. Once she settles in, she hopes to continue her research as well.

“I arrived at a good moment,” Dr. Noble says. “I wanted to experience a new school where there was some curriculum design to develop and apply. Cummings School is excellent for me because they are making changes to the curriculum that also link to my research activities on cognitive load and performance when applying modifications in programs. Tufts is a very famous school with a good reputation. The fact that Cummings School is also having a curriculum shift is extremely exciting for me because I would be able to be a part of it.”

Dr. Noble met her husband, a chemical engineer, in Australia, and they have two daughters together. Her family is likewise excited for the move to Massachusetts, especially to explore and tour. They also have two Australian Terriers, one a teaching dog that she often brings to class to participate in lectures as a live model and for practical activities as students learn dog anatomy.

Over the summer, Dr. Noble prepared for the upcoming semester and met with different faculty members to gain a broad and in-depth understanding of Cumming School’s D.V.M. program. In the fall, she began teaching, researching, and developing the anatomy curriculum.

“I’m focused on a cross-section of teaching, curriculum development, and laboratory work,” says Dr. Noble. “It’s been an excellent first few months. People are extremely welcoming—it’s very useful when you feel that context and support.”