Assistant Dean of Medical Education, Professor of Medical Sciences
Department of Medical Sciences

Dr. Metzger brings to the Seton Hall-Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine over a decade of experience in the development and implementation of innovative medical education programs in both new and established institutions. Trained as an anatomist, he brings his love for the classroom and skill in curricular design to the School of Medicine.

Dr. Metzger most recently served as an Associate Professor of Anatomy & Structural Biology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. As part of Einstein’s medical education reform effort, he served on the Curricular Design Executive Committee and co-chaired the group charged with transforming the College’s traditional pre-clinical curriculum into a more modern integrated one that incorporated best practices in educational theory. Prior to joining Einstein, Dr. Metzger was part of the founding team at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine. There, he directed the development of a major portion of the pre-clinical curriculum, recruiting, managing, and leading interdisciplinary design teams to create inaugural courses.

Dr. Metzger has been actively involved with a number of preliminary, provisional, and full Liaison Commission on Medical Education (LCME) survey visits at multiple institutions. He has also served and led educational and administrative committees with the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY), American Association of Anatomists (AAA), and the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC).

In addition to his teaching and administrative experience, Dr. Metzger maintains an active research program in both medical education research as well as the functional morphology (form-function relationship) and biomechanics of vertebrates.

Education

• Postdoctoral Associate, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology: Brown University, 2007
• PhD, Anatomical Sciences: Stony Brook University, 2005
• MS, Basic Health Sciences; M.Phil, Anatomical Sciences: Stony Brook University, 2000
• BA, Anthropology, Biology: University of California at Santa Cruz, 1997

Scholarship

Peer-reviewed Articles

Menegaz, R.A., Baier, D.B., Metzger, K.A., Herring, S.W., Brainerg, E.L. 2015. “XROMM analysis of tooth occlusion and temporomandibular joint kinematics during feeding in juvenile miniature pigs.” Journal of Experimental Biology. 218 (16): 2573-2584. doi: 10.1242/jeb.119438.

Porro, L.B., Metzger, K.A., Iriarte-Diaz, J., Ross, C.F. 2013. “In vivo bone strain and finite element modeling of the mandible of Alligator mississippiensis.” Journal of Anatomy. 223 (3): doi: 10.1111/joa.12080. (cover image)

Dawson, M.M., Metzger, K.A., Baier, D.B., Brainerd, E.L. 2011. “Kinematics of the quadrate bone during feeding in mallard ducks.” Journal of Experimental Biology. 214: 2036-2046. doi: 10.1242/jeb.047159.

Brainerd, E.L., Baier, D.B., Gatesy, S.M., Hedrick, T.L., Metzger, K.A., Gilbert, S.L., Crisco, J.J. 2010. “X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM): precision, accuracy and applications in comparative biomechanics research.” Journal of Experimental Zoology, Part A. 313A(5): 262-279. doi: 10.1002/jez.589.

Ross, C.F., Baden, A.L., Herrel, A., Metzger, K.A., Reed, D.A., Schaerlaeken, V., Wolff, M.S. 2010. “Chewing variation in lepidosaurs and primates.” Journal of Experimental Biology. 213: 572-584. doi: 10.1242/jeb.036822.

Zapata, U., Metzger, K., Wang, Q., Elsey, R.M., Ross, C.F., Dechow, P.C. 2010. “Material properties of mandibular cortical bone in the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis.” Bone. 46(3): 860-867. doi:10.1016/j.bone.2009.11.010.

Metzger, K.A. 2009. “Quantitative analysis of the effect of prey properties on feeding kinematics in two species of lizards.” Journal of Experimental Biology. 212: 3751-3761. doi: 10.1242/jeb.034462.

Montuelle, S.J., Herrel, A., Schaerlaeken, V., Metzger, K.A., Mutuyeyezu, A., and V.L. Bels. 2009. “Inertial feeding in the teiid lizard Tupinambis merianae: the effect of prey size on the movements of hyolingual apparatus and the cranio-cervical system.” Journal of Experimental Biology. 212: 2501-2510. doi: 10.1242/jeb.026336.

Herrel, A., Schaerlaeken, V., Meyers, J.J., Metzger, K.A., C.F. Ross. 2007. “The evolution of cranial design and performance in squamates: Consequences of skull-bone reduction on feeding behavior.” Integrative and Comparative Biology. 47(1): 107-117. doi: 10.1093/icb/icm014.

Ross, C.F., Eckhardt, A., Herrel, A., Hylander, W.L., Metzger, K.A., Schaerlaeken, V., Washington, R.L., and S.H. Williams. 2007. “Modulation of intra-oral processing in mammals and lepidosaurs.” Integrative and Comparative Biology. 47(1): 118-136. doi:10.1093/icb/icm044.

Metzger, K.A. and A. Herrel. 2006. “Utility of skeletal mass as a measure of body size in lizards.” Journal of Herpetology. 40(3): 381-384. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2006)40[381:UOSMAA]2.0.CO;2.

Metzger, K.A. and A. Herrel. 2005. “Correlations between lizard cranial shape and diet: a quantitative, phylogenetically informed analysis.” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 86(4): 443-466. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2005.00546.x.

Metzger, K.A., W.J.T. Daniel and C. Ross. 2005. “Comparison of beam theory and finite element analysis to in vivo bone strain in the alligator cranium.” The Anatomical Record, Part A. 283A(2): 331-348. doi 10.1002/ar.a.20167.

Ross, C.F. and K.A. Metzger. 2004. “Bone strain gradients and optimization in vertebrate skulls.” Annals of Anatomy. 186(5-6): 387-396. doi: 10.1016/S0940-9602(04)80070-0.

Peer-reviewed Book Chapter

Metzger, K.A. 2002. “Cranial kinesis in lepidosaurs: skulls in motion.” In: Topics in Vertebrate Functional and Ecological Morphology, pp. 15-46 (P. Aerts, A. Herrel, K. D’Aout, and R. Van Damme eds.). Shaker Publishing, Maastricht.

Published Book/Conference Reviews

Metzger, K.A. 2000. “Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s fifty-ninth annual meeting.” Evolutionary Anthropology 9(4): 149-150. doi: 10.1002/1520-6505(2000)9:4<149::AID-EVAN1>3.0.CO;2-J.