Meet our faculty and staff
Diane Dean, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Saint Joseph College School of Pharmacy
Dr. Diane Dean received her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota. After a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota’s Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program under the direction of Prof. Michel Sanders, Dr. Dean moved to Saint Joseph College, where she continues to serve on the faculties of Chemistry and Pharmacy. Dr Dean has taught nursing biochemistry and both biochemistry and physical chemistry for majors, as well as graduate courses.
Dr. Dean is an innovative educator. She has developed several projects for helping students understand the relevance of biochemistry to medicine. She has presented her Biochemistry of Drugs Project at the American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting. She initiated the first fully online master of science program in biochemistry in the nation She has also mentored several faculty members through their initial online teaching experience.
Dr. Dean is active in both the American Society of Biochemists and Molecular Biologists and the American Chemical Society. She has presented on both research and pedagogy, including a series of talks on the future of biochemistry education, including use of technological advances to teach graduate biochemistry.
Her research focuses on the role of estrogen in the regulation of gene expression in breast cancer cells. She has mentored several undergraduate students in this research and had them present their research at national meetings. Many of these students found this to be the most rewarding part of their undergraduate careers.
In her position as Associate Professor of Pharmacy, Dr. Dean teaches in the School’s innovative biochemistry curriculum, which is a critical foundational component in the Pharm.D. program. She works with students to promote their understanding of biochemistry and enhance their understanding of the molecular action of drugs. She also contributes to curriculum development.
Outside of the classroom, Dr. Dean is an avid collector of orchids and has served as a founding member of the Nutmeg State Orchid Society.
