
Frederick Grinnell, Ph.D.
Professor
Endowed Title Distinguished Teaching Professor; Robert McLemore Professorship in Medical Science
Department Cell Biology
Graduate Programs Biomedical Engineering
Biography
Frederick Grinnell took his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Clark University (1966) and Ph.D. in biochemistry at Tufts New England Medical Center (1970), after which he moved to Dallas for postdoctoral work in the UTSW Biochemistry Department. In 1972, he joined the UTSW faculty in the Department of Cell Biology. Grinnell has published more than 150 scientific research papers and reviews and is known internationally for his research on the cell biology of wound healing and tissue mechanics. From 1973 to 2014, his laboratory was funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health including a MERIT award from 1999-2008.
Dr. Grinnell also works in the biomedical ethics field. In 1991, he initiated research integrity teaching for UTSW graduate students. In 1998, he founded and was first director of the UT Southwestern Program in Ethics in Science and Medicine, and in 2004 he organized the North Texas Bioethics Network. His interests in advancing science education and public understanding of science led Grinnell to write two books to help students understand the process and nature of science. The Scientific Attitude first was published in 1987 and now is in its second edition (Guilford Press, 1992). Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic was published in 2009 by Oxford University Press and in the following year shortlisted for the UK Royal Society Science Book Prize. Recently, Grinnell began empirical studies aimed at enhancing the experience of high school students engaged in the practices of science through science fairs. In 2012 Grinnell was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the Section on History and Philosophy of Science.
Grinnell's teaching has been recognized with a UT System Regent's Outstanding Teaching Award in 2012 and Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award in 2017. He is a member of the UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers and was named Distinguished Biomedical Science Educator in 2019. Also in 2019, Grinnell's elective course Introduction to Biomedical Ethics won first place in the UT System Shine Academy Innovations in Health Science Education competition.
For publications and additional information see the Grinnell website.
Education
- Undergraduate
- Clark University (1966), Chemistry
- Graduate School
- Tufts University (1970), Biochemistry
Research Interest
- a) Science education
- b) Research ethics
- c) Philosophy of science
- d) Fibronectin
- e) Wound healing
- f) Tissue engineering
Books
Featured Books
The Scientific Attitude, 2nd Edition
Frederick Grinnell (1992). New York, Guilford Press
Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic
Frederick Grinnell (2009). New York, Oxford University Press
Honors & Awards
- Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation -- Piper Professor
Awarded (2017) - AAAS Fellow, Section on History and Philosophy of Science
Elected (2012) - UT System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award
Recipient (2012) - Royal Society (UK) Science Book Prize
Shortlist - Everyday Practice of Science (2010) - Gordon Research Conference on Science and Technology Policy
Co-Chair (2006) - UT Southwestern Faculty Senate
President (2006) - Gordon Research Conference on Wound Repair
Chair (1999) - NIH, NIGMS
Merit Award (1999) - The Hastings Center, Briarcliff Manor, NY
Visiting Fellow (1990) - Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Forchheimer Visiting Professor (1988) - Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel
Meyerhoff Visiting Professor (1984)