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Allyson Roof, PhD

Assistant Professor, Physiology
College of Medicine – Tucson
Allyson Roof

2026 Margaret M. Briehl and Dennis T. Ray Five Star Faculty Award

Originally from Tucson, Dr. Roof is a proud “desert rat” with a deep appreciation for the Sonoran Desert, especially monsoon season and our purple mountain sunsets. She earned both her BSHS in Physiology and MS in Physiological Sciences from the University of Arizona. Dr. Roof completed her PhD in Integrated Physiology with a focus in Reproductive Sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship studying postmenopausal bone loss.

Although Dr. Roof comes from a family of K-12 educators, teaching was not initially part of her career plan. While completing prerequisite coursework on the pre-med track as an undergraduate, she developed a strong interest in physiology.  

Dr. Roof is the Associate Director of the Physiology Undergraduate Program at the College of Medicine - Tucson and Course Director for Human Anatomy and Physiology I (PSIO 201). She also teaches an upper-division elective on the Physiology of Aging (PSIO 487), in which students apply their understanding of physiological systems to understand age-related disease and critically evaluate popular claims about “cures” for aging. She is also actively engaged in pedagogical research focused on evidence-based practices in physiology education. In 2024, Dr. Roof was a part of a multidisciplinary team that received the CUES Spanning Boundaries Challenge Grant to study the role of teaching teams in fostering student sense of belonging.

"Dr. Ally Roof is an exceptional teacher and a great mentor to undergraduate and graduate students," said Claudia Stanescu, Associate Professor and colleague of Dr. Roof. "She is innovative and engaging in her teaching and uses memorable examples and real life experiences to make learning fun. She creates a sense of community in her classes, whether large or small, and is one of the most loved instructors in our department. She is an outstanding educator and leader in undergraduate education and I am delighted that she is being recognized with the 5-Star Teaching Award."