Laura Kabiri earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston before attending Texas Woman’s University to earn her Master of Science, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. She is a licensed physical therapist in the State of Texas but currently works full-time as teaching faculty at Rice.
Dr. Kabiri has received multiple teaching and mentoring awards including Lovett Favorite Professor, Baker Best Professor, Career Champion, Distinguished Faculty Associate, Excellence in Academic Advising Award, Outstanding Teaching Award for the Weiss School of Natural Sciences, and the George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching. Created in conjunction with Rice Online, her Coursera version of medical terminology has enrolled over 60,000 learners worldwide and counting. Laura lives and loves to bring joy and humor to learning through her uniquely “quirk-thentic” (quirky, but authentic!) teaching style.
Teaching responsibilities in the Sports Medicine & Exercise Physiology program include, but are not limited to, Human Physiology, Human Anatomy with Lab, Medical Terminology, Human Physiology Lab, and Movement Disorders. She has created several novel courses and labs at Rice including a virtual cadaver dissection laboratory component for Human Anatomy for which she was awarded the national Sam Drogo Technology in the Classroom Award. She is also a textbook author and created a book with “less text and more fun” as The Medical Terminology Book through Human Kinetics.
Dr. Kabiri is a proud Faculty Associate for McMurtry College and has held service positions as a Natural Sciences Divisional Advisor, chair of the University Committee for Teaching, the Health Professions Advising Committee, and Faculty Senate. Professionally, Dr. Kabiri holds past and present membership and service positions with the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society, American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Physical Therapy Association and has also been a National Item Writer for National Physical Therapist Exam (NPTE).
In her spare time, Laura enjoys reading inspirational historical fiction, volunteering in the community, working with animal groups, and exploring new places and cultures through food and music. She is absolutely obsessed with her Australian shepherd and Dalmatian mix Margo who drags her around the three-mile outer loop at Rice on a regular basis.