Tracy Fulton, PhD
ADJ PROF-HCOMP
Tracy Fulton has spent more than 20 years at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she earned a PhD in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and is now a professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. As a grad student, while studying telomerase in yeast, she explored her love for teaching as an adult literacy tutor, an animal museum docent, a K-5 classroom helper, and a TA for dental school biochemistry. She settled on professional school education as her target path and since joining the faculty in 2000 has directed and taught in courses in the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry. Tracy is now co-directing the Teaching Scholars Program and is a learner in the UCSF-University Medical Center Utrecht doctoral program in Health Professions Education, exploring how students and faculty integrate and use their knowledge in the clinical workplace, with the goal of better informing preclerkship curriculum design.
In the Bridges School of Medicine curriculum, Tracy co-directs the REGulatioN (Renal, Endocrine, GI, Nutrition) block. One of Tracy's main goals has been to transform medical biochemistry from a siloed collection of enzymes and pathways to an applied discipline focused on understanding. She worked with a team to nationally implement and study the Pathways of Human Metabolism Map, a visual tool for health professions students demonstrated to promote deep learning and application of classroom concepts to clinical problems. In her role as a course director she is passionate about helping students see connections between biochemistry and other disciplines and collaborates with faculty locally and nationally in this effort.
Tracy is a member of the Academy of Medical Educators, and held the Academy Chair for Excellence in Foundational Teaching for 2 terms from 2013-2023. Tracy mentors UCSF students in the PILLAR program, and students in UCSF School of Medicine’s postbaccalaureate program. Tracy is active in the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), past secretary and current member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) committee for the Association of Biochemistry Educators (ABE), and has served on two US Medical Licensing Exam committees. For ~10 years Tracy was a leader in the Aquifer Sciences initiative, a partnership between Aquifer and the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) to design instructional tools that facilitate integration of basic sciences with clinical reasoning. Finally, Tracy was a member of the group that produced the AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for Entering Residency in 2014.
In the Bridges School of Medicine curriculum, Tracy co-directs the REGulatioN (Renal, Endocrine, GI, Nutrition) block. One of Tracy's main goals has been to transform medical biochemistry from a siloed collection of enzymes and pathways to an applied discipline focused on understanding. She worked with a team to nationally implement and study the Pathways of Human Metabolism Map, a visual tool for health professions students demonstrated to promote deep learning and application of classroom concepts to clinical problems. In her role as a course director she is passionate about helping students see connections between biochemistry and other disciplines and collaborates with faculty locally and nationally in this effort.
Tracy is a member of the Academy of Medical Educators, and held the Academy Chair for Excellence in Foundational Teaching for 2 terms from 2013-2023. Tracy mentors UCSF students in the PILLAR program, and students in UCSF School of Medicine’s postbaccalaureate program. Tracy is active in the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), past secretary and current member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) committee for the Association of Biochemistry Educators (ABE), and has served on two US Medical Licensing Exam committees. For ~10 years Tracy was a leader in the Aquifer Sciences initiative, a partnership between Aquifer and the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) to design instructional tools that facilitate integration of basic sciences with clinical reasoning. Finally, Tracy was a member of the group that produced the AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for Entering Residency in 2014.
