Tia has 10 years of combined experience in pathology and histology laboratories in both human and veterinary medicine. While she started her lab career studying Arabidopsis thaliana plants as an undergrad, it was her love for animals that pushed her to obtain her M.S. in Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University.  While studying anatomy, Tia found that she had an intense interest in neuroscience and chose neurobiology as her concentration.

Studying anatomy and neurobiology eventually led to Tia’s work as a pathology grossing tech at Poudre Valley Hospital. This work, which included the dissection of human tissues (including some autopsies), gave her a remarkable look at the medical system.

After spending several years in the pathology lab, Tia decided to try her hand as a small business owner and as a professional baker. Tia inevitably found her way back to her first love: science. Her previous pathology experience helped her gain a position in the diagnostic histology lab associated with CSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Tia spent a year working with sheep and wild cervid neural tissue as part of the program to monitor scrapie and the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease. After working in diagnostics, Tia is thrilled to have a position using her histology experience in a research capacity. Research has always appealed to her curious nature.

When not at work in the lab, Tia likes to stay busy as a local artist, a mom, a dog lover, and she takes advantage of the local trails for hiking and biking whenever she can. She also enjoys, reading, writing, gardening, and cooking as well as an abundance of other pursuits.