Biography
Amber Jade Helsel-Ickes is a native of central Pennsylvania. Her current research is focused on this region, assessing correlations between soil characteristics and their effects on a disease (Chronic Wasting Disease - CWD) affecting the white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania. Amber and her husband Ryan have three children. They live on a small farmette with honey bees and chickens. They enjoy growing, harvesting, and preserving their own food. Amber graduated from Juniata College in 2004 with a program of emphasis in biology with a secondary emphasis in chemistry. She played softball for four years during her time at Juniata and also played basketball her senior year. She earned her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from The University of Buffalo, State University of New York in 2009. Amber worked as a visiting instructor at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown before joining Juniata College in 2010. Amber has published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and The Royal Society of Chemistry’s Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry journal.