Rate My Professor Susan Tilton

The Tilton Lab utilizes molecular and computational tools to predict the toxicity of chemical contaminants in the environment. The research program develops and applies advanced cell culture techniques and organotypic in vitro models to explore mechanisms of toxicity and disease in human systems, with a focus on improved translation and risk assessment. Particular interests include environmental health outcomes from inhaled pollutants and chemical mixtures originating from urban environments, contaminated sites, and wildfires. Key areas encompass mechanistic and computational toxicology, toxicogenomics, carcinogenesis, lung disease influenced by dietary factors and obesity, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and non-coding RNAs as predictive biomarkers. Representative publications include "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as skin carcinogens: comparison of benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[def,p]chrysene and three environmental mixtures in the FVB/N mouse" (Siddens et al., Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2012), "Dysregulation of macrophage activation profiles by engineered nanoparticles" (Kodali et al., ACS Nano, 2013), "Systematic developmental neurotoxicity assessment of a representative PAH Superfund mixture using zebrafish" (Geier et al., Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2018), and "Leveraging Multiple Data Streams for Prioritization of Mixtures for Hazard Characterization" (Rivera et al., 2022). Tilton has received the Jackman Team Award from the College of Agricultural Sciences (2015) and served as a National Institutes of Health Early Career Reviewer.