Faculty Profiles

Elizabeth Pennefather-O'Brien

Education & Credentials:

• Indiana University, Bloomington   PhD  Anthropology
• Indiana University, Bloomington   MA  Anthropology
• University of Alberta, BA (Specialization) Anthropology

Began teaching at MHC: 2005

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Elizabeth Pennefather-O’Brien is an Instructor in the Science department.  Since 2005 she has taught anatomy and physiology, physiology, biology, general education, anthropology, and archaeology.  She has served previously as Chair, Science, and Dean, Science and Health, but returned to the classroom when she missed that environment. Helping learners in the classroom and laboratory is what Elizabeth loves most about her job.

Elizabeth is a biological anthropologist, archaeologist, and anatomist.  She has worked at archaeological sites in Italy, Tunisia, as well as the western United States.  As a graduate student at Indiana University, she taught gross anatomy, biological anthropology, and histology.  Her dissertation investigated biological relationships among Middle Woodland populations in the Eastern US. 

Elizabeth is active in several professional organizations and has served on the board of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS).  She has participated in many HAPS committees as well as co-founding the HAPS Leadership Academy.  Elizabeth was honoured as one of five inaugural recipients of the College Sector Educator Awards bestowed by the Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE).  As such, she sits on their Council of Fellows.  

Elizabeth is a co-author of a Human Anatomy textbook with McGraw Hill Education and regularly presents at the annual HAPS conference.  She was part of a symposium on ethics and cultural practices in using human remains in education at the 2022 American Association for Anatomists annual conference.  

Elizabeth and colleagues have a 5-year project which aims to assess and mitigate barriers to existing mental wellness services in rural newcomer populations. This work is an example of applied multidisciplinary research in partnership with a local non-profit agency, Global Village Centre, in Brooks, Alberta

As a proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, Elizabeth enjoys learning as much as she can about her family’s heritage.