Director of Online Programs | Neuroscience Program
Digital Accessibility Coordinator | College of Natural Science
Assistant Professor | Physiology Department

Dr. Casey Henley is the Director of Online Programs in the Michigan State University Neuroscience Program and the Digital Accessibility Coordinator for the College of Natural Science. Her work focuses on creating equitable and inclusive online learning environments by implementing evidence-based teaching practices and using technology to improve student outcomes. She directs the fully online, one-year Medical Neuroscience Graduate Certificate Program, teaches both undergraduate and graduate students, and takes an active role in sharing equitable online education practices with other faculty. Additionally, Dr. Henley is engaged in improving accessibility of course materials to provide equivalent educational experiences to all students.

Dr. Henley recently published an open education resource (OER): Foundations of Neuroscience, Open Edition. Creating and using the OER in her classroom decreased the financial burden of higher education for her students. She was awarded two OER awards at MSU from the MSU Libraries and ASMSU. Additionally, her OER was selected as one of Pressbooks’ favorite OER of 2021. 

Dr. Henley was also in the 3DL4US STEM Teaching and Learning Fellowship program through the College of Natural Science in 2019-2020 and was a 2019 recipient of the NatSci Faculty Teaching Prize. She completed an Online Teaching Certificate through the Online Learning Consortium in 2019 and was a 2018-2019 Adams Academy Fellow at MSU. Additionally, her Medical Neuroscience course won first place in the fully online course category in the 2018-2019 MSU AT&T Awards in Instructional Technology.

Dr. Henley is also the faculty outreach co-coordinator in the Neuroscience Program. She has a strong interest in promoting neuroscience to the public, particularly K-12 students. The Neuroscience Program organizes many outreach events including the Brain Bee at MSU, the Neuroscience Fair, and visits to local schools.

Prior to taking on a full-time teaching role, Dr. Henley completed undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral research at MSU. Her work centered on the effects of hormones on the development of the nervous system.

Read about her approach to teaching.