New Faculty Profiles
I encourage my students to look for connections between topics and not just memorize the facts. Instead, they should use the facts to learn how topics fit together.
Andrea Ward
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
award@adelphi.edu
Please give us a brief overview of your background, area of expertise, research and teaching.
My general research interests are in the fields of evolutionary morphology, functional morphology, and developmental biology. My interest in these fields began as an undergraduate at Wake Forest University where I worked with Dr. Peter Weigl on the anatomy and function of the raptor hind limb.
Upon receiving my degree, I opted to attend graduate school so that I could continue research in anatomy and locomotion, although I was looking to work on fish. I went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to work with Dr. Elizabeth Brainerd. During graduate school, I began to be interested in not only the effect of changes in anatomy to locomotion, but also the molecular and developmental changes that resulted in anatomical change.
This new curiosity, led me to the field of evolutionary developmental biology. Since I had a strong background in functional morphology and evolutionary biology from undergraduate and graduate research, I opted to focus my time as a postdoctoral scholar on learning developmental biology. I was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago with Dr. Victoria Prince, where I worked on pancreatic development in zebrafish. While there, I gained many new skills associated with studying molecular developmental biology in model systems. I plan to bring the skills that I developed in my postdoctoral and graduate research to study body shape evolution in fishes.
What made you choose to come to Adelphi?
I decided early on in my graduate career that I wanted to work at a small liberal arts school where I could focus on working one-on-one with students in the laboratory. I also think that students should have training in a number of different disciplines, not just the sciences. I liked the character of Adelphi and the opportunities available to students. I also liked that I could continue my research and incorporate it into my teaching. Adelphi is also in an ideal location, as it’s close to the city and the American Museum of Natural History as well as to other institutions in the Northeast. When I visited the campus, I was extremely impressed the positive interaction between the faculty and students.
What has been your experience so far?
I have been extremely pleased with my experience at Adelphi. The students are inquisitive and eager to learn, and I look forward to days when I teach classes. My colleagues have also been extremely supportive and helpful. I feel that there is a real camaraderie among faculty here.
What do you wish to impart to your students?
When I was a freshman in college, one of my professors told me that learning is a lot more fun and useful than memorizing. At the time,
I didn’t really understand what he meant, but in the years since I have come to realize just how correct he was.
I encourage my students to look for connections between topics and not just memorize the facts. Instead, they should use the facts to
learn how topics fit together. In the fall, I will teach an upper level vertebrate anatomy class. Many people think that anatomy is
all memorization. Instead, I want students to know how the parts of the body work together. There is a bit of memorization,
but more of the learning involves understanding how the different bones and muscles work together so that an animal can walk or
perform some other movement. 
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