Physician Perspectives
This June, the American Association of Clinical Anatomists held its 43rd Annual Meeting right here in Rochester, MN, hosted by Mayo Clinic from June 12–15, 2026. Clinical anatomists from across the country and around the world came to our city to share research, teach, and learn. For me, this one was personal in more ways than one.
Mohs micrographic surgery is, at its heart, applied anatomy. Every flap I design and every reconstruction I perform depends on a detailed, three-dimensional understanding of the anatomy of the face. So it was a privilege to serve on the faculty for the meeting's hands-on cadaveric course, "Advanced Anatomy for Superficial Surgery of the Face: Applications for Safe Practice, Flap Design and Execution," held in Mayo Clinic's advanced anatomy laboratories.
There is simply no substitute for cadaveric dissection. Textbooks and images are vital, but working through the layers of the face with your own hands, tracing the vessels and nerves that matter most in reconstructive surgery, sharpens judgment in a way nothing else can. Guiding participants through flap design and execution at the dissection table, alongside a wonderful group of fellow faculty, is the kind of teaching that sharpens the teacher just as much as the learner. And all of us in this field remain deeply grateful to the anatomical donors whose generosity makes this training possible.
I also had the honor of delivering one of the meeting's MasterClass talks: "Anatomic Framework for Mohs Surgery." Speaking to a room of professional anatomists about how their science plays out in the operating room is a wonderful full-circle exercise: they teach the anatomy; I get to show them what it looks like when that anatomy guides real decisions in skin cancer surgery such as where tumor cells travel, why certain danger zones demand extra respect, and how anatomic knowledge shapes the reconstructions that restore form and function afterward.
One of the highlights of the week had nothing to do with my own work. My son Shyam and his friends Nathan, Adam, and Niko, all students at Mayo High School here in Rochester, presented "Teaching the Pause," the story of the AI literacy club they founded and Mercurius, the AI tutoring app they built. Their premise stops you in your tracks: students aren't misusing AI, they're using it to stop thinking. So they built an AI tutor that asks questions instead of giving answers, one that makes students do the thinking rather than handing them the result.
Watching high schoolers stand at a national scientific meeting and hold their own with professional anatomists and educators was a reminder that curiosity is the engine of every career in science and medicine, and that the next generation is off to a very strong start.
The meeting brought news that made this one unforgettable for our family: my wife, Nirusha Lachman, PhD, was officially installed as President of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists. Her dedication to the field of clinical anatomy, as a scientist, an educator, and a mentor to countless students and clinicians, has inspired me for years, and seeing her colleagues entrust her with the leadership of their organization was a moment I won't forget. Rochester was already the perfect host city; for us, it became the perfect backdrop.
Meetings like this one are more than professional obligations. The anatomy refined at the dissection table, the ideas exchanged between anatomists and surgeons, and the energy of a community that cares deeply about teaching all find their way back into the exam room and the operating suite at Dermatology Partners. When your surgeon keeps learning, and keeps teaching, you get better care. It's that simple.
Thank you to the AACA and to Mayo Clinic's Department of Clinical Anatomy for bringing this meeting home to Rochester.
Dr. Kevin Christensen
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