Dr. Sheila Nielsen-Preiss (Dr. NP) is the Director of the Health Professions Advising office at Montana State University. The Health Professions Advising office is dedicated to assisting students in identifying and preparing for careers in the health professions.
Dr NP has conducted federally funded research related to eukaryotic mineralization, cell polarity and pathogenesis. Recently, she and her team of students went to Kennedy Space Center to prepare an experiment with the opportunistic pathogen, Candida albicans, to be conducted on the International Space Station. This payload was transported on the Space X (Falcon rocket/Dragon capsule), the first private venture to serve ISS.
During her 15+ years of research, she has had the distinct privilege of teaching elementary school students, undergraduate students, medical and graduate students, and residents – in both the laboratory and the classroom. Former members of her research team are now in positions such as a tenure track university faculty, an orthopedic surgeon, a pharmacist and an educator.
Prior to assuming this leadership position at Montana State University on July 1, 2008, Dr. NP was on the research faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in the departments of Orthopedics and Endocrinology. She continues to serve as an adjunct professor at the Colorado School of Mines in the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering department. While at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Dr. NP served for several years on the Orthopedic resident selection committee, the Orthopedic resident curriculum committee, the Endocrinology clinical fellow research committee, and chaired the Orthopedic resident research committee. She also served as the Health and Safety compliance coordinator for the department of Orthopedics and on the School of Medicine space utilization committee.
Dr. NP has published dozens of scientific articles and abstracts and has delivered scientific and educational presentations in the United States and Europe. She proudly credits Montana State University for launching her own career. Dr. NP graduated with a BS in Microbiology (1987) from MSU and then obtained her PhD in Molecular Microbiology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (1993).
