B.A. in Chemistry and Neuroscience at Amherst College and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Brown University before working as a Millard_Chempost-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Washington and a Dreyfus Teaching and Research Fellow at the University of Richmond. Prof. Millard has taught Biochemistry, Exercise Physiology, General Chemistry, and chemistry for non-majors at Colby since 1991 and is currently teaching a W1 course called The Science of Crime. Her research is in the field of DNA-drug interactions, investigating how some small molecules cause cancer whereas others act as anti-cancer drugs. Many of Prof. Millard’s students have appeared as co-authors on publications appearing in such journals as Biochemistry. She was named a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar in 2006 and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2016, and her research has been funded by the American Chemical Society, Research Corporation, and the NIH. She is also the author of a textbook for non-majors called Adventures in Chemistry.

Helen’s research interests focus on the reproductive biology of marine organisms, and she has studied parental behavior in worms, mating systems in mouth brooding in fishes, and the evolution of self-fertilization in hermaphroditic invertebrates. While she mainly identifies herself as a teacher at COA, she also enjoys including students in her research activities.