Meet Tiffany Oliver, Ph.D.

Biography

Tiffany R. Oliver, Ph.D., is a professor of biology at Spelman College and a Carnegie and Rockefeller Distinguished Research Scholar. Her academic work integrates molecular genetics, genomics, data science, and interdisciplinary inquiry to advance undergraduate education and research. She has served Spelman in major academic leadership and shared-governance roles, including Chair of the Department of Biology and service on the Spelman College Faculty Council. She is the creator and director of Spelman’s Virtual Data Science Summer Research Program, an interdisciplinary research experience that expands undergraduate training in data science and computational research.

Dr. Oliver has held visiting and fellowship appointments with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Joint Genome Institute, Microsoft, the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy. She was selected as a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Jefferson Science Fellow and has provided scientific and technical expertise across federal, academic, and national professional settings.

Her current research includes large-scale microbial and viral genomics, time-series analysis, and the use of data-intensive approaches to understand biological systems. In collaboration with the Joint Genome Institute, she contributed to a twenty-year metagenomic time series from Lake Mendota, resulting in one of the largest curated freshwater metagenomic resources reported to date. Her earlier research examined meiotic recombination and chromosome 21 nondisjunction, as well as molecular and genomic responses relevant to environmental and cellular stress.

Dr. Oliver is also deeply engaged in undergraduate research, mentoring, curriculum innovation, and STEM pathway development. She has mentored more than 100 undergraduate researchers and has led or contributed to externally funded programs supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Department of Defense. Her national professional service includes leadership in AP Biology assessment through the College Board and service on scientific and education advisory boards.

Education

• Ph.D., Genetics and Molecular Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
• B.S., Tennessee State University

Courses Taught

• Cell Biology
• From Mendel and Beyond (Upper-Level Genetics)
• Research in Genetics (Independent Study)
• First-Year Experience / Freshman Biology Seminar
• Sophomore/Senior Biology Seminar

Research Interests

• Microbial and viral genomics
• Virus-host and microbial community dynamics in longitudinal biological data
• Metagenomics, bioinformatics, and data-intensive biological research
• Freshwater microbial ecology and long-term environmental time-series analysis
• Genetics of meiotic recombination and chromosome nondisjunction
• Undergraduate data science and STEM education research

Academic and Professional Leadership

• Professor of Biology, Spelman College (2024-Present)
• President, Spelman College Faculty Council (2026-2028)
• Chair, Department of Biology, Spelman College (2018-2023)
• Creator and Director, Virtual Data Science Summer Research Program (2020-Present)
• Higher Education Lead / Co-Chair, AP Biology Development Committee, College Board (2021-Present)
• Director, CIEE Study Abroad Program (2013-Present)
• Co-PI and Executive Committee Member, NIH-funded FIRST Postdoctoral Program (K12) (2018-2025)
• Subrecipient PI and Campus Coordinator, NSF-funded LSAMP Program (2017-2025)

National and External Appointments / Service

• Jefferson Science Fellow, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
• Visting Faculty, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Joint Genome Institute
• Visiting Faculty, Microsoft
• Faculty Research Fellow, United States Air Force, Human Effectiveness Branch
• Faculty Sabbatical Fellow, United States Navy, Biological Defense Research Directorate
• Councilor/Board Member, American Society for Cell Biology 2025-2027
• Member, Kaiser Permanente Research Bank Scientific Advisory Board
• Member, Allen Institute, Education Advisory Committee

Awards and Recognition

• Jefferson Science Fellow, Advisor, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2023)
• Carnegie & Rockefeller Foundation Distinguished Scholar (2020)
• Challenge Coin, U.S. Air Force Human Effectiveness Branch (2017)
• Challenge Coin, Defense Threat Reduction Agency Chemical-Biological Basic Research Program (2017)
• American Society for Cell Biology Visiting Professor Award (2012)
• American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Research Spotlight (2012)
• NIH F31 Predoctoral National Research Service Award (2006)

Select Publications

1. Lecy, K., et al. Crops that Nourish: Agricultural research approaches for opportunity crops to improve nutrition, soil health, resilience, and prosperity. Nature Food (2025). doi: 10.1038/s43016-025-01271-3.
2. Oliver, T., Varghese, N., Roux, S. et al. Coassembly and binning of a twenty-year metagenomic time-series from Lake Mendota. Scientific Data 11, 966 (2024). doi: 10.1038/s41597-024-03826-8.
3. Teodorescu, D., Ingram, C., and Oliver, T. Ensuring a Sustainable STEM Sector in the U.S.: The Role of Culturally Responsive Mentoring in Undergraduate Education. Sustainability 16, 7775 (2024). doi: 10.3390/su16177775.
4. Stephens, M., Oliver, T. R., and Leggett-Robinson, P. M. Increasing the Persistence of Black Women in STEM (WiSTEM) by Implementing and Sustaining a Successful Cohort Model for First-Year Undergraduate Women at an HBCU. 2023 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition (2023).
5. Rono, C. and Oliver, T. R. Near-infrared light exposure is associated with increased electron transport in retinal pigmented epithelial cells. Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences 19, 1455-1459 (2020).
6. Oliver, T. R., Middlebrooks, C. D., Harden, A., et al. Variation in the Zinc Finger Binding Domain of PRDM9 is Associated with the Absence of Recombination on 21q and an Increased Risk for Chromosome 21 Nondisjunction within Oocytes. Journal of Down Syndrome and Chromosome Abnormalities 2:115 (2015).
7. Oliver, T. R., Tinker, S. W., Allen, E. G., et al. Altered patterns of multiple recombinant events are associated with nondisjunction of chromosome 21. Human Genetics 131, 1039-1046 (2012).
8. Oliver, T. R., Feingold, E., Yu, K., et al. New insights into human nondisjunction of chromosome 21 in oocytes. PLoS Genetics 4, e1000033 (2008).

Selected Sponsored Research and Training