Dr. Mara is the 2008-09 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy based at the National Defense University. Andrew earned his PhD in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from Yale University. He also holds dual undergraduate degrees in Molecular Biology and Economics from the University of California at San Diego.

The bulk of Dr. Mara’s thesis work involved studying the formation and synchronization of molecular clocks during animal development. He developed new, high-resolution imaging technologies and formed productive collaborations in biological image data analysis. This work resulted in numerous academic publications and presentations and was recognized with the J. Spangler Nicholas Prize, an honor awarded to the best biology thesis at Yale each year. As a Department of Homeland Security Graduate Fellow, Dr. Mara also studied foot and mouth disease virus at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.

Dr. Mara has significant experience in science publishing, having worked both as an intern at the Academic Press Division of Harcourt, Inc and as the Publicity Editor of the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. At CTNSP-NDU, Andrew hopes to combine his rational thinking and scientific writing skills to identify the policy implications of advanced technologies.