Hilda Collins began working in the Shelton Lab as a research technician in 1994, and has outlasted numerous graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and visiting scientists. Working half-time, she serves as lab coordinator, rears several insect species, conducts bioassays and other research involving insecticide resistance in vegetable pests, and provides editing expertise for scientific papers, book chapters, and symposia proceedings.
Hilda received a B.A. from Oberlin College, double majoring in biology and music. She subsequently earned a B.S. degree in Nursing from the University of Rochester, and worked as a community health nurse in Monroe County. She also served as manager of the Blue Ridge Poison Control Center in Charlottesville, Virginia.
When she’s not in the lab, the other half of her life revolves around music—specifically classical piano performance. A frequent collaborator and chamber musician with area artists and groups, she is a member of the long-lived Geneva institution, the Tuesday Quartette, an ensemble devoted to music performed by four pianists at two pianos. She also serves on the board of Geneva Concerts, Inc., which presents an annual series of orchestral music, dance, jazz and vocal performances at the Smith Opera House, and is a member of the Steinway Committee of the Smith Opera House.