Andrea Tilden

About Andrea Tilden

OVERVIEW:* I’ve been in higher education for over 30 years, and as a proud native Mainer, I had the extraordinary good fortune to land at Colby College in where I’ve built a wide-ranging long-term career in academia. In 1997, I had the equally great fortune to begin a research career at the MDI Biological Lab, where I’ve maintained a career that has ranged from scientific research to STEM education administration. CURRENT INTERESTS:* I’m very much interested in the growth of the STEM-based economies in Maine, including: workforce development; scientific training; biotechnology; engineering; the use of data science, genomics, and AI tools in medicine; and development of infrastructure, resources, and policy in all of these areas.ADMINISTRATIVE WORK:* Administrative work is characterized as “the dark side,” but it suits me to a tee and allows me to nurture my need to be playing around with new ideas all the time. The leaders of Colby have been very indulgent in this regard. I currently direct and administer a variety of STEM-related programming for both Colby and the MDI Bio Lab. For a list, see my full bio here.TRAINING:* My PhD training is in physiological ecology, which is the study of how animals function in their environments. Mainly, this involves applying physics and physical chemistry principals to the mechanisms of things like locomotion, respiration, kidney function, cardiovascular function, and more…. I was trained and mentored at University of Oklahoma by the legendary Victor Hutchison. Most of my work was on large watersnakes of the genus Nerodia, not to be confused with venomous cottonmouths in the area, but often confused anyway because they look identical, especially out in the swamps at night.RESEARCH:* Much of my research over the years has centered around circadian rhythms: the genetic underpinnings of animals’ inner clockworks that regulate daily functions like brain cell development, metabolic rate, and hormonal function. I focused on melatonin * My interests have roamed over the years to include endocrinology, neuroscience, cellular development, and genomics.TEACHING:* I absolutely love being in the classroom, and the older i get, the more I enjoy being inspired by young people just starting their science careers. A few courses I’ve taught regularly: Neurobiology, Human Physiology, Animal Physiology, Genomics, other. I do less teaching as my administrative roles grow, but I like to keep some grounding in this arena.

Experience

1. Director of Education

   Mdi Biological Laboratory

   Mar 2023 — Present · Bar Harbor, ME, US

Education

• University of Oklahoma

  PhD, Zoology

  1988 — 1994

• Alma College

  BS, Biology

  1983 — 1988