Robstein L Chidavaenzi, PhD

Assistant Professor, Medical Foundations
Dr Robstein L Chidavaenzi
Contact Information

rchidavaenzi@rossu.edu

LinkedIn Profile

Biography

Involved in anatomy education since 2004, Dr. Robstein Chidavaenzi joined RUSM as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Foundations in 2021. He has a Bachelor of Science Honors degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), and a doctorate in Anatomy and Cell Biology from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Prior to coming to Barbados, Dr Chidavaenzi served as a Teaching Assistant, and then an Instructor in neuroanatomy at UIC, and the Lecturer, and Senior Lecturer in Anatomy at UZ.

Sandwiched between his stints at UIC and UZ, Dr Chidavaenzi was involved in intramural research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda campus, where he was a postdoctoral visiting fellow in the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). His research focus was on mammalian inner ear hair cell structure and hearing.

A Fulbright alumni, Dr Chidavaenzi has received numerous awards from all the institutions he has been affiliated with, including from the following scientific and awarding bodies: Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO), American Association for Anatomy (AAA), International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), Society for Neuroscience (SfN), Fogarty International, International Institute of Education (IIE), and Marine Biology Laboratories (Woods Hole).

At Ross, Dr Chidavaenzi teaches gross anatomy, embryology, and neuroanatomy (neuroscience). He currently serves as semester 5A Neurology and Psych (NUPY) co-lead and before that was the Neuro and Psych 1 & 2 module co-director.

Education
  • Undergraduate Degree: BSc Hons Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe, 1995
  • Medical/Doctoral Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Anatomy & Cell Biology), University of Illinois, Chicago, IL USA, 2014
  • Postdoctoral Training: Postdoctoral Visting Fellow, National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), NIH, Bethesda, MD USA, 2017

Areas of Expertise: Anatomical Sciences, Neuroscience

Honors and Awards
  • RUSM Department Medical Foundations: Colleague Recognition Award, 2023
  • UZ Clayton Dedonder Mentorship Fellowship, 2019
  • UZ Health Education Advanced Leadership for Zimbabwe (HEALZ) Fellowship, 2018
  • Fulbright Fellowship, 2007
  • UZ Staff Development Fellowship in Anatomy, 2004
Research Interests

Medical (anatomy) education, structure and cytoarchitecture of mammalian vestibular and cochlear hair cells

Publications

Makosa T, Bere S, Chidavaenzi R, & Mawera G. Relationship of the neurovascular structures of the infratemporal fossae in black Zimbabweans: a cadaveric study. Anatomy Journal of Africa, 2021, 10(1): 2071-2081

Cantuti-Castelvetri L, Zhu H, Givogri MI, Chidavaenzi RL, Lopez-Rosas A, & Bongarzone ER. Psychosine induces the dephosphorylation of neurofilaments by deregulation of PP1 and PP2A phosphatases. Neurobiol Dis., 2012, 46(2): 325-335.

Dalet A, Bonsacquet J, Gaboyard-Niay S, Calin-Jageman I, Chidavaenzi RL, Venteo S, Desmadryl G, Goldberg JM, Lysakowski A, & Chabbert C. Glutamate transporters EAAT4 and EAAT5 are expressed in vestibular hair cells and calyx endings. PLoS ONE, 2012, 7(9): e46261. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046261

Vranceanu F, Perkins GA, Terada M, Chidavaenzi RL, Ellisman MH, & Lysakowski A. Striated organelle, a cytoskeletal structure positioned to modulate hair-cell transduction. PNAS, 2012, 109(12): 4473-4478.

Affiliation & Memberships
  • Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
  • Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO)
  • American Association for Anatomy (AAA)
  • American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)