Dr. Deptola studies how adults learn and interact with their environment. Dr. Deptola’s research interests include resident wellness, interprofessional education, and the science of education and learning. She is looking at the correlation between physical fitness level and physician resident wellness, and how retrieval practice may be used when integrated into curriculum for resident education. She is also researching how learning occurs in case-based report conferences at the graduate medical education level.

Dr. Deptola is an Associate Program Director in the Internal Medicine Residency Program. She also serves as the Director of the Explore Program for medical students, which fosters career exploration and scholarship in Advocacy, Education, Innovation and Research. Dr. Deptola has particular interests in training physicians to be the next generation of medical educators.

Dr. Deptola is a mentor for medical students in the Education Pathway of the Explore Program and for resident projects within the Washington University Teaching Physician Pathway. She enjoys research on learning science, the interaction of learning, motivation and well-being, and interprofessional education.