Dr Laura Fitton is MBBS Anatomy Lead at Hull York Medical School, where she oversees the design, delivery, and assessment of anatomy teaching across the MBBS programme. She plays a key role in curriculum development, integrating cadaveric teaching and digital technologies to support clinical learning.
Alongside her teaching leadership, she supervises PhD students and leads and contributes to a range of interdisciplinary research projects. Her work applies computational and biomechanical approaches to investigate anatomical form and function across clinical, developmental, and evolutionary contexts.
She also contributes to the MSc in Health Technology and Human Anatomy as a module lead and core member of the teaching team, supporting an interdisciplinary approach that combines anatomical sciences with engineering and computational methods.
Laura Fitton graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BSc in Human Anatomy and Cell Biology (2003) and a PhD in Masticatory Biomechanics (2008). She undertook postdoctoral research at Hull York Medical School and in the Department of Engineering at the University of Hull, where she further developed expertise in biomechanics and computational approaches to the study of anatomical form and function.
She joined Hull York Medical School in 2011 as a Lecturer in Anatomy and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2018. She is currently MBBS Anatomy Lead.
Laura’s research focuses on the relationship between anatomical form and function, with a particular emphasis on craniofacial biomechanics. Her work uses a range of computational and experimental approaches to investigate how anatomical systems develop, integrate, and respond to biomechanical requirements across clinical, developmental, and evolutionary contexts.
She develops and applies a suite of techniques, including 3D virtual modelling of anatomical structures, finite element modelling, multibody dynamics, 3D printing, and material property testing, alongside statistical shape analysis, to examine how variation in form influences mechanical performance. These approaches can be used independently or in combination to explore functional morphospaces and the integration of anatomical systems. While her primary focus is craniofacial anatomy, this methodological framework is applicable across a range of anatomical systems.
Her research is highly interdisciplinary, spanning collaborations across dental science, medical engineering, and comparative anatomy and archaeology. Current projects include the development of biomechanical models of the masticatory system to investigate the impact of surgical interventions and dietary change on craniofacial growth, alongside the application of imaging and modelling techniques to investigate a range of anatomical structure-function relationships.
Laura teaches anatomy across the MBBS programme at Hull York Medical School and is MBBS Anatomy Lead, overseeing the design, delivery, and assessment of anatomy teaching across Years 1 and 2. Her teaching spans cadaveric anatomy and medical imaging, with a focus on linking anatomical structure to function and clinical application.
She contributes to postgraduate teaching on the MSc programmes in Clinical Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy and Education, and is involved in the development and delivery of the MSc in Health Technology and Human Anatomy, where she leads and teaches modules integrating anatomy with technology, including imaging, modelling, and quantitative approaches.
Laura supervises MSc, MPhil, and PhD students across a range of interdisciplinary projects, supporting research spanning anatomy, biomechanics, engineering, and applied clinical contexts.
A full list of publications is available via ORCID
External Examiner in Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University College London.
Regularly invited to act as an external PhD examiner at UK universities.