Dr Awais Babri

Lecturer

School of Biomedical Sciences

+61 7 336 51753

a.babri@uq.edu.au

Researcher biography

Dr. Awais Saleem Babri is a dedicated educator and researcher in biomedical sciences, specializing in innovative anatomy education, curriculum development, and technology-enhanced learning. With over two decades of experience at The University of Queensland, his work focuses on integrating virtual reality (VR), digital repositories, and evidence-based pedagogies to transform medical and health professions education.

Key Contributions:

Teaching Excellence: Led curriculum reviews and course coordination for programs in medicine, nursing, and paramedicine, enhancing clinical integration and student engagement. Recognized with multiple awards, including the UQ Citation for Excellence in Teaching (2009) and nominations for national teaching honors.
Research Leadership: Secured over $105K in grants to pioneer VR classrooms and image repositories, improving accessibility and outcomes in anatomy education. Presented at 15+ international conferences, including IFAA and ANZAHPE, with pending publications on VR and ward-round pedagogy.
Supervision & Mentorship: Guided honours and summer research students, with projects on surgical simulation and ward-round pedagogy earning scholarships and conference presentations (e.g., ANZACA 2024, ANZAHPE 2025).
Leadership & Service: Founded the Gross Anatomy Evaluations Network (GAEN), uniting 28 universities to standardize assessments. Served as ANZACA Vice President (2025–present) and contributed to committees (UQ HREC, ANZAHPE DEI).

Dr. Babri's work bridges cutting-edge technology and pedagogical innovation, making him a sought-after collaborator in health professions education. For details on projects or partnerships, contact a.babri@uq.edu.au.

Publications

Book (1)

Journal Articles (5)

Conference Papers (17)

Thesis (1)

Book

Aland, R. C., Babri, S., Bennett, S., Colbrook, P., Callaway, L. K., Fitzgerald, J. R., Forbes, K., Hutchinson, A., Kippers, V., Knaggs, R., Landmann, J., Lewis, A., McGill, J., McPhee, B., Mitchell, C., Moore, D., Ozolins, I., Rego, P., Schafer, J., Spooner, A., Thornton, E., Turner, J., Walker, P., WIlkinson, D. and Wood, W. (2008). School of Medicine clinical skills program handbook. Brisbane, Qld, Australia: School of Medicine, The University of Queensland.

Journal Articles

Papinczak, Tracey, Peterson, Raymond F., Babri, Awais Saleem, Ward, Kym, Kippers, Vaughan and Wilkinson, David (2012). Using student-generated questions for student-centred assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 34 (4), 439-452. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2010.538666

Papinczak, Tracey, Babris, A.S., Peterson, Ray, Kippers, Vaughan and Wilkinson, David (2011). Students generating questions for their own written examinations. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 16 (5), 703-710. doi: 10.1007/s10459-009-9196-9

Alshami, A. M., Babri, A. S., Souvlis, T. and Coppieters, M. W. (2008). Strain in the tibial and plantar nerves with foot and ankle movements and the influence of adjacent joint positions. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 24 (4), 368-376. doi: 10.1123/jab.24.4.368

Alshami, A. M., Babri, A. S., Souvlis, T. and Coppieters, M.W. (2007). Biomechanical evaluation of two clinical tests for plantar heel pain: The dorsiflexion-eversion test for tarsal tunnel syndrome and the windlass test for plantar fasciitis. Foot & Ankle International, 28 (4), 499-505. doi: 10.3113/FAI.2007.0499

Coppieters, M. W., Alshami, A. M., Babri, A. S., Souvlis, T., Kippers, V. and Hodges, P. W. (2006). Strain and excursion of the sciatic, tibial, and plantar nerves during a modified straight leg raising test. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 24 (9), 1883-1889. doi: 10.1002/jor.20210

Conference Papers

Babri, Awais Saleem, Chan, Amy, Al Najjar, Aiman, Vegh, Viktor and Midwinter, Mark (2024). Enhancing inclusivity in anatomy education through magnetic resonance imaging repository. ANZACA 2024, Dubbo, NSW, Australia, 3-5 December 2024.

Msayer, Ali, Babri, Awais Saleem and Midwinter, Mark (2024). Extrapolating the role of surface electromyography: A protocol for standardised data normalisation for surgical research. ANZACA2024, Dubbo, NSW, Australia, 3-5 December 2024.

Babri, Awais Saleem, Chan, Amy, Chan, Vanessa Weng Chi, Li, Shirley Xue'er, Midwinter, Mark, Noor, Halima and Vuu, Michelle (2024). Unpacking the nursing curriculum: Is there room for pathology?. ANZACA2024, Dubbo, NSW, Australia, 3-5 December 2024.

Vnuk, Anna, Babri, Awais Saleem, Michael, Sowbhagya, Lim, Lichin, Lim, David, Jain, Neera, Wong, Pauline, Choi, Tammie, Castro de Jong, Daniela and Gallego, Gisselle (2024). When one size does not fit all: Creative enablers to achieve diversity equity and inclusion in health professional education. ANZAHPE 2024, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 1-4 July 2024.

Babri, Awais Saleem and Midwinter, Mark (2024). Is virtual reality the new norm for teaching gross anatomy?. IFAA2024, Gwangju, Republic of Korea, 5-8 September 2024.

Babri, Awais Saleem and Midwinter, Mark (2023). Does mixed reality have the potential to reconnect learners with human gross anatomy. ANZACA+APICA2023, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, 30 November - 3 December 2023.

Babri, Awais Saleem, Cosgrove, Karine, Midwinter, Mark, Gilmour, Saskia, Sun, Ruijie, Huang, Wanyun and Waldie, Luke (2023). Is student collaboration to develop assessments likely to turn the tides?. ANZAHPE2023, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 26-29 June 2023.

Babri, Awais Saleem and Midwinter, Mark (2022). Image repositories a potential new norm for anatomy education- A collaborative pilot. ANZACA 2022, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 7-9 December 2022.

Babri, Awais Saleem, Boey, Foo Shen, Buiza, Aaron, Penfold, Charlotte Rose, Yonus, Spinghar and Midwinter, Mark (2022). Mapping and integrating MD- Nervous System (MD-NS) curriculum to improve leaner outcomes- A staff student partnership (SSP). ANZAHPE 2022, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 11, 13 and 19 July 2022.

Babri, Awais Saleem and Midwinter, Mark (2021). Investigating the application of virtual reality (VR) to develop innovative and blended classrooms in human gross anatomy- A pilot study. ANZACA 2021, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 1-3 December 2021.

Li, Joan, Reddy, Venkat, Steele, Megan, Forster, Ashlee, Oancea, Ilulia, Midwinter, Mark, Aland, Claire, Pillai, Suja, Simpson, Peter, Babri, Saleem and Barry, Ben (2020). Designing retrospective analysis of examination items for medical students in clinical science categorisation by Bloom’s Taxonomy, clinical relevance and student perceptions. ANZAHPE2020, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 12-15 July 2020.

Babri, Awais Saleem (2020). Evaluating a combination of simulated patients and flipped classroom hybrid pedagogy to enhance learning in a nursing cohort. Australia NewZealand Association of Health Professionals Education, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 12 July 2020. Melbourne, Australia: ANZAHPE.

Babri, Awais Saleem (2019). Evaluation of flipped classroom as a pedagogical instrument to enhance higher-order thinking in masters of nursing cohort- A Qualitative Study. ANZACA, Perth, Australia, 4-6 December 2019.

Babri, Awais Saleem, Papinczak, Tracey, Peterson, Raymond, Kippers, Vaughan and Wilkinson, David (2009). Using student generated questions to enhance learning in the MBBS program. ANZAME2009, Launceston, TAS Australia, 25-28 June 2009.

Kippers, V., Babri, A. S. and Bennett, M. B. (2004). Morphometric analyses of collagen content in the peripheral nerves of the human lower limb. 16th International Congress of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA 2004): Morphological Sciences as the Basis of New Life Science in the 21st Century, Kyoto International Conference Hall, Kyoto, Japan, 22-27 August, 2004. Victoria, Australia: Blackwell Publishing Asia.

Babri, A. S., Kippers, V. and Bennett, M. (2003). Longitudinal Excursion of Peripheral Nerves of the Human Lower Limb. 19th Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 6-11 July 2003. Dunedin, N.Z.: University of Otago.

Babri, S., Kippers, V. and Bennett, M. B. (2001). Length changes in lower limb peripheral nerves related to joint motion. 2001 Queensland State Conference Sports Medicine in the New Millennium, Coolum, Queensland, Australia, 23-25 March, 2001. Brisbane, Australia: Sports Medicine Australia (Queensland Branch).

Thesis

Babri, Saleem A. (2007). Structural and functional properties of peripheral nerves of the human lower limb. PhD Thesis, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/151551