‘Our greatest teachers:’ OUWB 2025 Anatomy Memorial honors people who donate their bodies to medical education
An image from the anatomy memorial
M1 Julia Freeman read a poem during the 2025 OUWB Anatomy Memorial.

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine held a special memorial ceremony to honor donors who selflessly contributed their bodies to medical and physical therapy education.

The 2025 OUWB Anatomy Memorial was held Jan. 27 in Oakland University’s Oakland Center. More than 100 people attended the event co-hosted by students from OUWB and the Oakland University School of Health Sciences’ Physical Therapy program.

Both programs rely on such donors as part of their curricula. Students begin working with the donors at the beginning of the school year. They are considered vital to providing students with hands-on learning experiences and the ability to see the diverse variations of the human body. The donors also are considered the students’ first patients.

In honor of those individuals, the ceremony featured reflections and art presentations and performances. Christopher Carpenter, M.D., Stephan Sharf Dean, was among those to speak.

“You will never know all of the reasons the donors wanted to be in your lab with you, but I’m pretty sure that they wanted to help you be the best at your profession…they wanted you to succeed,” he said.

“No other gift can compare to this one.”


Carpenter said he remembers “vividly” his first day in an anatomy lab and “feeling humbled and filled with respect for the person in front of me who donated their body for my education as a student.”

“It’s inevitable that one day you will find yourself at a patient’s bedside searching for an answer, when suddenly, in that moment, your educational journey will come to you and you will find your solution,” he said.

Jickssa Gemechu, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, provided the OUWB faculty reflection. He called the ceremony a “profound, meaningful occasion.”

“Teaching anatomy through donor dissection goes beyond delivering knowledge,” he said. “It fosters respect, empathy, and an appreciation for humanity.”

“This transformative experience shapes students into skilled health care professionals while nurturing the compassion that is essential for patient care,” he added.

Student reflections and performances demonstrated that they understood the magnitude of the gift made by the donors.

An image of the digital artwork done by an OUWB student

M1 Shreya Srivatsan presented a piece of digital artwork called "Silent Legacy."

M1 Shreya Srivatsan presented a piece of digital artwork called "Silent Legacy." The art relied on an image of a woman meant to represent donors with flowers and other symbols incorporated, all intended to express appreciation for "the gift of knowledge that these donors provided."

Srivatsan told the audience that she put a lot of thought into each detail of the piece. 

"It's incredibly difficult to do justice to how much the donors have positively impacted our learning and, in turn, our capacity to positively impact the lives of our future patients," she said. "I only hope that in depicting them in this way, they are honored in the way they deserve."

M1 Gabrielle Abdelmessih provided a narrative reflection. She noted that she didn’t know anything about the donor she worked with, but came to affectionately call the person “Gary” in honor of other especially influential mentors she’s had in her life with the same name.

“This sense of familiarity and connection encouraged me to push through my apprehension and embrace the privilege of the gift he was giving me…the opportunity to learn,” she said.

“Completing the anatomy lab not only deepened my awe and appreciation for the human body but also reinforced the profound responsibility we carry as future physicians to honor the sacrifices made in the name of advance knowledge and care,” she added.

M1 Rogina Ibrahim was part of the four-student planning committee for the anatomy memorial. In welcoming attendees to the ceremony, Ibrahim called the donors “our greatest teachers.”

After the ceremony, she shared why she wanted to be involved in planning it.

“I wanted to be an organizer for this event because I did connect from an emotional standpoint with my donor and this was the best way to honor (the donor),” she said.

She said art is a good way to express those feelings.

“Art is emotional and being in the laboratory with the donors is also very emotional,” she said. “There is a connection between the two.”

An image of Jared Gong playing guitar

M1 Jared Gong played electric guitar and sang “Bridge Over Trouble Water” by Simon and Garfunkel.

M1 Jared Gong played electric guitar and sang “Bridge Over Trouble Water” by Simon and Garfunkel. He said he picked the song because of its “respectful tone” and that “it feels like a sendoff.”

“I wanted some way to honor — in front of all my classmates here today — the people who donated their bodies,” he said.

M1 Julia Freeman read an original poem she wrote called “Praise of Preservation.” The poem paid tribute to the donors’ bodies in life and the gift they gave to students in death.

Freeman said she has been writing poetry her whole life and has “always loved the humanities as a way to express myself and express my emotion.”

“From the first day in the anatomy lab, I knew that as soon as I had an opportunity to really express my appreciation for the donors, I was going to take it,” she said after the ceremony.

The reflections and presentations during the ceremony left a big impact on those in attendance. Steve Collard, CMA, vice dean, Business and Administration, called it “really moving.”

“The students are genuinely touched by the fact that people care enough to donate their bodies,” he said. “So much thought went into their works of art, poems, and reflections. I was especially touched by Freeman’s poem.”

Collard also said he liked the collaboration between students from OUWB and OU’s physical therapy program.

“It gives you such a deep respect for how important the body donation program is,” he said.

Mariana Allushuski, Ph.D., director, Academic Success, also attended for the first time. She said she often talks with students about anatomy study strategies.

“It was nice to take a step back and be reminded of why students spend countless hours in the anatomy lab and just how invaluable their experiences with the donors are,” she said. “Hearing them describe their donor as their ‘first patient’ was incredibly meaningful.”

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Allushuski called it “incredible to see the diverse talents our students bring to the table — we have artists, poets, musicians, and writers, not just students studying medicine.”

“Most of all, I was very touched by the amount of gratitude and reverence our students have for those who donated their bodies so they could study anatomy,” she said. “It was very apparent the deep impact this experience had on them.”

That’s exactly the kind of thing Malli Barremkala, M.D., associate professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, said he hopes people take away from the ceremony.

Specifically, the hope is that people gain better understanding of how much the donors mean to the students and perhaps even are encouraged to consider donating themselves.

“Students voluntarily attend (the anatomy memorial) and they’re wearing their white coats,” he said. “This level of professionalism shows how much they value the donor in their medical education, especially in the first semester of medical school.”

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, senior marketing specialist, OUWB, at [email protected].

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.

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