Title: Theoretician and Research Scientist
Company: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Location: Belchertown, Massachusetts, United States
Andrea Maria, Femino, PhD, theoretician and research scientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Scientists for dedication, achievements, and leadership in research and development.
As a child, Dr. Femino discovered a love of science in a roundabout way. Her brother would regularly receive Christmas and birthday gifts like chemistry sets, but he would pass along pieces that didn’t interest him to her. This process is how Dr. Femino received her first microscope, which she used to examine water samples from the nearby canals and wastewater areas. She fondly remembers seeing her first Volvox, a species of green algae, under the microscope and realizing that she wanted to pursue a career related to exploring the world around her in this way.
Despite a family history that was not heavily invested in education, Dr. Femino began taking school very seriously around the age of 12, developing a highly analytical approach to thought. She particularly embraced chemistry and physics, often finding that she would eagerly finish reading entire textbooks ahead of her classmates and well before the school year ended.
Building on this enthusiasm, Dr. Femino would go on to establish an impressive career as a theoretician and research scientist. Among other associations, she filled these roles for the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Throughout her career, Dr. Femino has prided herself on never giving up, even when others have tried to stop her or told her that a goal was unattainable. She believes that if people say something is impossible or cannot be done, that means it’s on the cutting edge and that it’s worth finding a way to do it.
Demonstrating just how impactful those early interactions with a microscope were for her, Dr. Femino was granted a patent in 1995 for single-molecule detection. For a decade, she was widely considered one of the world’s leading experts in fluorescence microscopy. From the mid-90s, Dr. Femino was an outspoken proponent of shifting biological data from qualitative observational methods to quantitative analyses. That transition was publicly embraced by the director of the National Institutes of Health in 2006, showcasing Dr. Femino’s ability to be ahead of the curve.
Dr. Femino’s performance in the field was born of her academic journey, beginning with her high school diploma in 1965. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1972. Returning to academia later in her professional life, Dr. Femino earned a PhD in biomedical research from the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 2001.
Beyond her esteemed career, Dr. Femino is also a loving mother to one daughter, grandmother to two and great-grandmother to one. She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and traveling in her free time. In considering the future, Dr. Femino is eager to research new ideas she has been developing related to the aging process. She is in the process of formalizing these ideas to present to laboratories, with hopes of helping to slow down or even reverse certain aspects of aging. Although she has reached retirement age, Dr. Femino remains passionate about discovering advancements through research. She believes that science never stops, and thus she doesn’t intend to either.
Contact Dr. Femino: