Lieutenant Colonel Ilea Heft
Assistant Professor of Biology &
Director, Faculty Staffing & Development
Bio
Lt Col Ilea Heft serves as the Director of Faculty Staffing & Development and is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, U.S Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. In these roles, Lt Col Heft both teaches students directly & leads faculty staffing & development programs to enhance the effectiveness of all biology courses taught by the Department, impacting approximately 930 students each semester.
Lt Col Heft received her commission and degree from the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado, in 2007 and has served in multiple diverse roles for the Department of Defense.
Education
Ph.D., Human Medical Genetics & Genomics, University of Colorado-Denver (2017)
M.S., Biology, University of Texas-San Antonio (2008)
B.S., Biology, United States Air Force Academy (2007)
Honors & Awards
Defense Meritorious Service Medal – 2020
Joint Service Commendation Medal with combat device – 2020
Joint Service Commendation Medal – 2011
AF Commendation Medal – 2014
Goodner Award for Educational Excellence – 2014
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Research and Scholarly Interests
Genetics
Forensics
Bio-threat detection
Publications
Genetics Publications
Heft, Ilea E et al. “The Driver of Extreme Human-Specific Olduvai Repeat Expansion Remains Highly Active in the Human Genome.” Genetics vol. 214,1 (2020): 179-191. doi:10.1534/genetics.119.302782
Davis, Jonathan M et al. “A Third Linear Association Between Olduvai (DUF1220) Copy Number and Severity of the Classic Symptoms of Inherited Autism.” The American journal of psychiatry vol. 176,8 (2019): 643-650. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.18080993
Astling, David P et al. “High resolution measurement of DUF1220 domain copy number from whole genome sequence data.” BMC genomics vol. 18,1 614. 14 Aug. 2017, doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3976-z
Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Publications
Heft, Ilea E., and Lauren FV Scharff. “Aligning Best Practices to Develop Targeted Critical Thinking Skills and Habits.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 17.3 (2017): 48-67.