Tilton Lab Members

Susan C. Tilton, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Director of Academic Programs in Toxicology

Associate Director, NIEHS Training Grant  

Environmental and Molecular Toxicology Department

Education:

Postdoctoral Training, Cancer Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Ph.D. Toxicology, Oregon State University

M.S. Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Mississippi

B.S. Biology, Environmental Science and Policy, Duke University

Jamie Pennington

Lab Manager, Faculty Research Assistant

Kyle Burns, M.S.

Ph.D. Candidate, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology

I completed my Bachelor of Science in biochemistry with a minor in pharmaceutical sciences at The Ohio State University before starting at Oregon State University in the autumn of 2021. During the summer of 2022, I joined the Tilton lab in the toxicology department and began a project as I approached the start of my second year. The primary objectives of this project are to develop a co-culture model using 3D primary human bronchial epithelial cells with THP-1 macrophages, and to assess toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as either individual chemicals or mixtures in the co-culture model. By combining different cellular compartments, the hypothesis is that the co-culture model will better recapitulate in vivo response to environmental exposures compared to other in vitro models. 

Reese Valdez, M.S.

Ph.D. Candidate, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology

Reese is a PhD student working in Dr. Tilton’s laboratory.  Their current research is focused on using primary human bronchial epithelial cells to understand how mechanisms of toxicity differ between healthy and asthmatic individuals.  They earned their HBS in BioResource Research with focuses in toxicology and genomics/bioinformatics from Oregon State University in 2021. 

MacKenzie Allison, M.S.

Ph.D. Graduate Student, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology

Mario (Leo) Ramirez, M.S.

Ph.D. Graduate Student, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology

Taylor Jones

Ph.D. Graduate Student, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology

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Undergraduate Students

Rubi Juarez Murguia

BioResource Research, Oregon State University

Audrey Biggerstaff

Chemistry and Biochemistry, Oregon State University

Cora Willard

Honors College, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon State University

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Tilton Lab Alumni:

Graduate Students:

Victoria Colvin, MS, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar, Environmental Health Sciences, Purdue University

Brianna Rivera, PhD

Natural Resource Specialist, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Yvonne Chang, PhD

Toxicologist, Rancho Biosciences

Mackenzie Allison, MS

Ph.D. student in Toxicology, Oregon State University

Reese Valdez, AMP MS

Ph.D. student in Toxicology, Oregon State University

Francesca Germano, MS

Ph.D. student in Toxicology, Oregon State University

Undergraduate Students:

Samantha Amador, BS

Environmental Scientist, Waterstone Environmental Inc

Amadna Galbreath, BS

Research Assistant, Oregon State University

Kelley Bastin, BS

Research Assistant, Oregon Health Sciences Center

Celine Huynh, BS

Clinical Research Study Coordinator, Portland VA Research Foundation

Andrew Frank, BS

Research Associate, Synthetic Biology Group, Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Michael-Andres Mans, BS

Process Chemist, Hewlett-Packard

George Luker, BS

Research Associate II, Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA

Sawyer Hicks, BS

Doctoral Student, University of Albany, SUNY, Department of Biology

Kristina Halvorson, BS

Analyst, Intel

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Faculty Research Assistants:

Beth Siddens, MS

Senior Faculty Research Assistant, Linus Pauling Institute

David Sampson, BS

Senior Research Assistant, Oregon Health Sciences University

Yu Zhen, PhD

Faculty Research Assistant, Linus Pauling Institute