Dr. William E. Cullinan, PT ’81, is dean of the College of Health Sciences, professor of biomedical sciences, and director of the Integrative Neuroscience Research Center.

Cullinan received his bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Marquette in 1981 and earned his doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Virginia in 1991. He did postdoctoral research at the University of Michigan’s Mental Health Research Institute (1991–1995) before joining the Marquette faculty in the Department of Biomedical Sciences in 1995. His research laboratory, which has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, focuses on brain circuits that regulate neuroendocrine responses to stress, and whose dysfunction leads to neuropsychiatric illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others. He has authored numerous research articles and book chapters on functional neuroanatomy, stress neurobiology, neuroendocrinology, and neurophysiology in journals including Trends in Neurosciences, Brain Structure and Function, and the Journal of Neuroscience. He founded the Integrative Neuroscience Research Center at Marquette, which brings together campus neuroscientists around a biweekly seminar series and promotes collaboration across neuroscience research laboratories at Marquette.

Cullinan teaches courses in anatomy, neuroanatomy, and neuroscience to undergraduate students, to students in professional programs within the College of Health Sciences, and to dental students. He also presents a biweekly neuroscience lecture series to neurosurgical residents at the Medical College of Wisconsin where he is Adjunct Professor of Neurosurgery and directs a unique human brain dissection and course that draws a large national audience to Marquette University each year. He was named to the International Advisory Board of Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy in 2018 and was listed by Stanford University as among the top 2% of cited scientists in the world in 2023.

Cullinan received the university’s John P. Raynor, S.J., Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence in 2002 and the John P. Raynor, S.J., Professorship in 2006. He was also instrumental in the development of Marquette’s biomedical sciences undergraduate major, which was established in 1997 and quickly grew to become the university’s largest undergraduate program. Today the program serves as academic home to over 750 students. He has served as dean of the College of Health Sciences since 2007. During his tenure as dean, the college has seen growth in undergraduate enrollment, expansion of clinical professional programs and research expenditures, the development and launching of new master’s and professional programs, the addition of new clinics, and elevated program national rankings.