Rate My Professor Susan Tilton

Susan Tilton is an Associate Professor and Director of Academic Programs in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology within Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences. She serves as Principal Investigator and Project Leader for the OSU/PNNL Superfund Research Program project titled "Linking PAH Exposure to Health Outcomes Using Primary In Vitro Respiratory Model." Tilton is also a member of the Pacific Northwest Center for Translational Environmental Health Research, affiliated faculty with the OSU Center for Quantitative Life Sciences, and an affiliated member of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Cancer Chemoprevention and Control Research Program. Her career includes promotion to Associate Professor and contributions to multidisciplinary environmental health research initiatives at Oregon State University.

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.