Joy Y. Balta MSc, MATLHE, PhD

Associate Professor of Anatomy & Founding Director of Anatomy Learning Institute

Dr. Joy Balta completed his BSc in Zoology from the Lebanese University (Beirut, Lebanon) with honors. After which he was recruited by the Lebanese American University (LAU), School of Medicine to join a founding team as the Lab Technician in Anatomy & Microbiology where he developed his interest in Anatomical Sciences. After securing a faculty development grant from LAU, Dr. Balta completed an MSc in Human Anatomy from the University of Dundee (Scotland, United Kingdom). He then returned to LAU as an Instructor of Anatomical Sciences.
In 2013, he joined the Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience at University College Cork, Ireland as a faculty member to teach anatomy to different cohorts of students in the School of Medicine, Clinical therapies and Dentistry. During this period, Dr. Balta conducted research on the utility of embalming fluids for anatomical education and research which lead to his award of a PhD in Anatomical Sciences.
In 2016, Dr. Balta was appointed as the Program Development Coordinator for the first taught MSc in Human Anatomy in the Republic of Ireland. After the successful development of this program, Dr. Balta was appointed as the Program Coordinator at the time of admitting the first class in 2017. Throughout his teaching career, Dr. Balta developed an interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning that led him to complete an MA in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
Dr. Balta returned to the US in 2019 to join The Ohio State University, College of Medicine where he was promoted to an Associate Professor of Anatomy and Director of Anatomical Services & Body Donation Program. He also established The Balta Lab where he mentored many students completing their PhD, MS and BS degrees.
In 2022 Dr. Balta joined PLNU as an the Founding Director of the Anatomy Learning Institute.

Education

  • BS, Zoology, Lebanese University
  • MSc, Human Anatomy, University of Dundee
  • PhD, Anatomical Sciences, University College Cork
  • MA, Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, University College Cork

Professional and Community Involvement

  • American Association for Anatomy- Member & Chair, Human Body Donor Task Force
  • Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland- Member
  • American Association of Clinical Anatomy- Member
  • Institute of Anatomical Sciences- Member

Dissertations, Presentations, and Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles:

Clinical Anatomy Education

  • Abdullah E, Lone M, Cray JJ, Dvoracek P, Balta JY. 2021 Medical Students’ Opinions of Anatomy Teaching Resources and Their Role in Achieving Learning Outcomes. Medical Science Educator. 31(6):1903-10.
  • Mosley C, Lee W, Gilani R, Terry G, Reeves R, Balta JY. 2021 Building Bridges with Anatomy: Can Continuing Education in Mortuary Sciences Transform the Profession? European Journal of Anatomy. 25(special Issue 1): 11-60.
  • Abdullah E, Lone M, Balta JY. 2020. Student-Centered Learning in the Anatomy Laboratory: Medical Students’ Perspective. Medical Science Educator. 30(4):1459-64.
  • Balta JY, Supple B, O'Keeffe GW. 2021. The universal design for learning framework in anatomical sciences education. Anatomical sciences education. 14(1):71-8.
  • Vagg T, Balta JY, Bolger A, Lone M. 2020. Multimedia in education: what do the students think?. Health Professions Education. 1;6(3):325-33.
  • Balta JY, O’Keeffe GW, Supple B. 2019. Utilizing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning to Design an Anatomy Pedagogy Course. European Journal of Anatomy. 23 (3): 233-240
  • Balta JY, Cronin M, Cryan JF, and O'Mahony SM. The utility of cadaver-based approaches for the teaching of human anatomy: A survey of British and Irish anatomy teachers. 2017. Anatomical Science Education, 10(2): 137-143.
  • Balta JY, Lamb C, Soames RW. 2015. A pilot study comparing the use of Thiel- and formalin-embalmed cadavers in the teaching of human anatomy. Anatomical Science Education, 8(1): 86-91.

Bioethics

  • Balta JY, Venne G, Noël GP. 2022. 10 tips on working with human body donors in medical training and research. Anatomical Science International.10:1-6.
  • Zealley JA, Howard D, Thiele C, Balta JY. 2022. Human body donation: How informed are the donors?. Clinical Anatomy. 35(1):19-25.
  • Salameh F, O’Reilly BA, Balta JY. 2020. The cadaver is not dead. Anatomical Science International 95, 571–572.

Body Donor Research

  • Balta JY, Blom G, Davidson A, Perrault K, Cryan JF, O'Mahony SM, and Cassella JP. 2020. Developing a Quantitative Method to Assess the Decomposition of Embalmed Human Cadavers. Forensic Chemistry 18. 100235.
  • Balta JY, Cryan JF, O'Mahony SM. 2019. The Antimicrobial Capacity of Embalming Solutions: A Comparative Study. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 126(3):764-770.
  • Balta JY, Twomey M, Moloney F, Duggan O, Murphy KP, O'Connor OJ, Cronin M, Cryan JF, Maher MM, O’mahony SM. 2019. A comparison of embalming fluids on the structures and properties of tissue in human cadavers. Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia, 48(1):64-73.
  • Moloney F, Twomey M, Fama D, Balta JY, James K, Kavanagh RG, Moore N, Murphy MJ, O'Mahony SM, Maher MM, Cryan JF, and O'Connor OJ. Determination of a suitable low-dose abdominopelvic CT protocol using model-based iterative reconstruction through cadaveric study. 2018. Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology 62(5):625-633.
  • Balta JY, Twomey M, Moloney F, O’Connor OJ, Murphy KP, Cronin M, Cryan JF, Maher MM, and O’Mahony SM. Assessing Radiological Images of Human Cadavers: Is There an Effect of Different Embalming Solutions? 2017. Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging, 11:40-46.
  • Lone M, McKenna JP, Balta JY, O'Mahony SM, Cryan JF, Downer EJ and Toulouse A. Assessment of Thiel-Embalmed Cadavers as a Teaching Tool for Oral Anatomy and Local Anesthesia. 2017. Journal of Dental Education, 81(4): 420-426.
  • Balta JY, Cronin M, Cryan JF, O'Mahony SM. 2015. Human preservation techniques in anatomy: A 21st-century medical education perspective. Clinical Anatomy, 28(6): 725-734.