Dr. Ian Tietjen

Dr. Ian Tietjen believes there are brilliant people everywhere and that anyone can be a scientist. Mentoring students and watching them grow into confident scientists is one of his favorite parts of being a professor.

After getting his doctorate and completing a sting as a postdoc in molecular neurobiology, Dr. Tietjen relocated to Canada where he worked in biotechnology doing cardiovascular genetics, ion channel biology and drug discovery. After the company closed, he returned to academia where he worked to discover new drugs against viral infections. Eventually, he began working with scientists and traditional healers in Africa and other places to document their medicinal plants and understand how some may be used to treat disease. He and his team also tested plant extracts and their chemical compounds in the lab for their molecular properties and preclinical/clinical potential. Most notably, they were able to characterize chemical compounds from the bark of the feverberry tree, locally called “Mukungulu,” which is traditionally used for HIV/AIDS management in northern Botswana. This became one of his favorite projects as it allowed him to collaborate and develop mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous communities in sub-Saharan Africa and Canada. 

Dr. Tietjen credits his success to being open-minded to unconventional opportunities. He believes DelVal’s sincere engagement with students and focus on genuine, experiential education make it a great place to learn how to be a scientist. He believes any of the steps in his own professional journey can be brought to the classroom to help students get new ideas and gain the confidence to follow their own unconventional opportunities.