Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, CGUS Research Chair

“Researching and Teaching – Two Driving Passions”

Andrew McIntosh, Ph.D., lays claim to his heritage from Coleraine, Ireland (and with the charming Irish brogue to prove it.) He grew up with three siblings, one brother and two sisters, engulfed in the small-town life that makes up the tight-knit Northern Ireland community. Like many energetic young people looking for an athletic outlet, McIntosh quickly found rugby as a means of escape, exercise and enjoyment. At 18, he flew the coop to the United Kingdom to earn his B.S. in Anatomy and Human Biology from the University of Liverpool. And having made that leap of faith, it made perfect sense later on to head to Scotland for his Master of Science in Cell and Molecular Systems Biology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He then later went for his Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from Hull York Medical School- University of York and University of Hull in England. The drive to strive in academia just doesn’t seem to stop for McIntosh.

Yet as the fever pitch that is Ph.D. study began to settle, Dr. McIntosh began to marinate on the next big moves of his life. In love, that meant meeting his wife at a research associate conference in Boston (what a nerdy little meet-cute). His wife later accepted an offer to teach at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) located in South Georgia, meaning the U.K.-hopping scholar was U.S.-bound. Unsure of his next professional steps but optimistic as ever, Dr. McIntosh supported his wife’s new role and then quickly received a call from her ABAC dean who had heard of his Ph.D. work and wanted to explore the possibility of his teaching there. The thought of teaching had been a somewhat amorphous notion for Dr. McIntosh for a while, simply because U.K.-based programs like his had not included as much focus and opportunity for practical teaching experience. Yet, having already demonstrated an openness to embrace the new, he said yes and hasn’t looked back since.

He quickly discovered a deep passion and zeal for “the psychology of learning”, how to structure material, applications and concepts in a way that students can not only learn but understand the purpose of that knowledge.

“I love the students, but really I love to see them understand the material. That’s my favorite part of the job, and I do that using different techniques,” Dr. McIntosh said.

Upon arrival as a Health Sciences faculty member at Life University (Life U) in 2021, McIntosh hit the ground running to reinvigorate and inspire students coming through his anatomy and biology courses. A key differentiating technique that he employs is called Team-Based Learning (TBL). Essentially, he places students into diverse teams for the entirety of the quarter so they can work together on assignments and explore various scenarios or assigned case studies. The TBL method works well for Dr. McIntosh’s classes here at Life U due to the longer class periods, smaller class sizes and higher percentage of student-athletes in the student population who are used to working in a team atmosphere. He also is a proud proponent of dynamic digital textbooks, such as Top Hat, that offer engaging and interactive learning tools.

“I love to figure out what the best way is for students to learn, not just ‘Here’s a PowerPoint, and I’m going to talk at you.’ I like to do activities where the information integrates well,” Dr. Mcintosh said.

Of course, Dr. McIntosh’s first academic love lies with intensive research, a dedication that has only blossomed in his time at Life U. His initial Ph.D. efforts centered on the physical form and shape of subterranean rodents, comparing it to that of above-ground rodents. This research is very compelling from an evolutionary standpoint, in understanding what adaptations are present to help these animals evolve and adapt. Currently, Dr. McIntosh and his student recruits are working on several research projects related to quantifying form and function of vertebrate animals. He utilizes many different techniques, including image processing, geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistical analysis.

In particular, his projects have benefitted from a recent major national initiative to make detailed digital specimen imaging available to research institutions nationwide, sharing the vast knowledge and resources of many of America’s major natural history museums as well as university research department collections. For example, he enlisted his star research student, Megan Cronje, to analyze CT scans of the pelvic girdles in rodents to see how that specific shape translates into its movement and growth. He also has a current study underway where students are looking at the domestication of cats, looking at the skull shape of their closest living ancestors and comparing to see how domestication may have affected evolution.

Dr. McIntosh’s research students may not necessarily be interested in what he is interested in initially, but especially for students interested in dipping their toe into research, if they are unsure of a project topic, it can be a great launching surface to work on the projects of others. It also helps undergraduate students stand apart, especially as they consider moving on toward graduate or even Ph.D. work in the future.

“Life U has really given me an opportunity to not only be a great teacher, but to give me all the resources to make me a great researcher as well.”

Dr. McIntosh has had the opportunity to be recognized repeatedly for his efforts, most recently with being awarded the honor of Educator of the Year by the Healthcare Science Technology Education Association (HSTEA) in January 2025. He expressed immense and continued gratitude to Life U for giving him the opportunity to set up his lab here three years ago and fund his research. This has allowed him to grow professionally as well as contribute to the research conversation along with his students.