Frequently Asked Questions

Jonathan Bennion

Co-Founder/Director of Education/Creator/Lead Dissector/Anatomist/MPA-C

Jonathan found his love for teaching in 2008 while attaining his degree in Health Promotion and Education at the University of Utah. During his pre-medical coursework, he was asked to be a teaching assistant and immediately fell in love with teaching and learning about the human body. During his time at the University of Utah, Jonathan spent many hours in the cadaver lab receiving training in teaching and dissection. Since that time Jonathan has continued to teach anatomy and physiology at multiple schools and the Institute of Human Anatomy. He also has his Master of Physician Assistant degree and works as a medical provider in Urgent Care. When Jonathan is not teaching, dissecting, or working with patients he enjoys rock climbing, basketball, and traveling.

Jeremy Jones

Co-Founder/Executive Director

Jeremy is an entrepreneur who thrives on new ventures and experiences. He has a BS from the University of Utah and an MBA from Brigham Young University. He has engaged in a variety of industries from restaurant, retail, and manufacturing, to real estate, fitness, and technology. He is an avid learner and the opportunity to provide today's healthcare professionals access to this type of educational experience was something that he could not resist. Jeremy enjoys spending time with his family of four, camping/canyoneering, the great outdoors, trail running, and soccer.

Jennifer Rader 

Social Media Manager

Jen was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carthage College in Wisconsin, and after graduating in 2011, Jen made her move to Salt Lake City to work for the Major League Soccer team, Real Salt Lake. After 5 years with the team, she moved on to run the marketing department for the youth side of the game at the Utah Youth Soccer Association. A chance encounter with IOHA founder, Jeremy, led Jen to the Institute and into her very first cadaver lab. In her free time, Jen enjoys soccer, spending time with her family, and running her non-profit for pregnancy and child loss awareness- Josie’s Angels.

We’re housed inside the Granite Technical Institute in Salt Lake City, UT.

2500 S. State Street #408, Salt Lake City, UT 84115

One of the founder's favorite stories to tell (which can take a while) so to make a long story short, Jonathan recognized a need for those pursuing education or careers in healthcare-related fields to have access to cadaveric education of human anatomy and physiology. He brought the idea to start a private cadaver lab to his brother-in-law Jeremy, and the rest is history.

While Jonathan is a practicing PA, IOHA is not set up as a telehealth practice and due to HIPPA laws and insurance restrictions, we cannot offer treatment advice or diagnose any specific medical issues.

The lab has a faint chemical smell, but most likely not what you might expect. However, when we first bring a new donor body into the lab, there can be more of an intense smell than normal due to the recentness of its processing.

We work with several body donor programs in the United States.

No, we are temporary custodians of the donor bodies and return them to the donor program when they can no longer be utilized for effective educational endeavors.

Most of the adipose tissue in the body is considered yellow or white adipose, while some is brown adipose. Most of what’s seen in the cadavers is yellow or white, and is a normal part of human anatomy. However, the embalming process does change the color of the tissues slightly, which can create an increased level of contrast in the tissue colors. For the most part though, the yellow color is normal.

The preservation process starts when the donors are originally embalmed and then we continue the process by proper care and maintenance within our lab.

Most of our dissections are done by Jonathan and interns under his direction. In some workshops, dissections are done by the students.

Donor bodies can last for years under proper care and maintenance. Terms of the donor program dictate how long we can use them for education purposes. That said, we do have some bodies that have been with us for over 10 years. Learn more about the donor journey here.

Unfortunately not at this time. We work with several 3rd party donor service providers and are not set up to take direct donations yet. This may change in the future so if you are interested please join our email list as we will announce if this changes.  Otherwise, you can research state donor programs here.  Learn more about the history of cadaver usage, a comprehensive donor guide, and the donor journey by visiting our 3 part series in our blog here.

We work with several 3rd party organizations that do the intake and formalities around the donation and the process and any restrictions vary by donor program. Learn more here.

Generally, the answer is “yes” all donor bodies are eventually cremated. We have yet to work with a program that allows for standard burial, but again, donor processes vary by program.