Deborah Lycan, Ph.D.

Career Title:  Professor of Molecular Biology

Education:

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship: Harvard Medical School 1983-86
  • Ph.D. Molecular Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 1983
  • B.A., University of California at San Diego (summa cum laude) 1975

Email: lycan@lclark.edu

Career profile:

Teaching and research at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. Curriculum development emphasizes active learning, especially “doing science,” by designing experiments and analyzing data. Development of an interdisciplinary major in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (BCMB). Chair of Biology Department and BCMB multiple times, responsible for the hiring of faculty and the hiring and evaluation of staff.


My early research investigated the genetic regulation of the cell cycle, a problem crucial to cancer biology. I subsequently worked on a cell biology problem, also crucial to cell division, and cancer-how cells regulate the production of new ribosomes and test them for function. Grants from NSF and NIH supported my lab.

Present interests and affiliations:  Life-long learning, the Professional Associates of Fort Lewis College, climate change education and activism, science literacy. Tutoring for Fort Lewis College students. I enjoy the symphony, theatre, yoga, skiing, hiking, and grandparenting.