Andrea Elizabeth Kirkwood is a Canadian environmental microbiologist and aquatic ecologist, and a professor in the Faculty of Science at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ontario. She leads research on freshwater ecosystems, with emphasis on algal ecology, aquatic invasive species, and urban water quality, and serves as Research Excellence Chair in Urban Water for 2023âÂÂ2025.
Kirkwood was raised in Scarborough, Ontario. She completed a joint-honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies and Biology at the University of Waterloo in 1994, followed by a Master of Science in aquatic ecology at McMaster University in 1996 and a Doctor of Philosophy in environmental microbiology at the University of Toronto in 2003. After receiving her Ph.D., she undertook postdoctoral research at Oklahoma State University (2002âÂÂ2004) and the University of Calgary (2005âÂÂ2008).
Kirkwood joined Ontario Tech University as an assistant professor in 2008. She was promoted to associate professor in 2014 and to full professor in 2022, becoming the first woman to reach that rank in the Faculty of Science at the institution. At Ontario Tech she teaches courses including conservation biology, environmental research methods, and aquatic ecology.
In recognition of her research in urban water systems, she was appointed Research Excellence Chair in Urban Water for the period 2023âÂÂ2025.
Kirkwood has participated in public science communication and policy discussions related to freshwater protection, including commentary on federal and international water research funding and stresses on the Great Lakes.
Kirkwood directs the Collaborative Laboratory in Environmental Aquatic Research (CLEAR) at Ontario Tech, which investigates aquatic community structure and function across landscapes influenced by urbanization, land-use change, and invasive species, spanning lakes, wetlands, rivers, creeks, and stormwater systems. Projects include community science-based water quality monitoring, ecological responses to invasive macrophytes, and algal biotechnology applications such as biofuel and wastewater studies.
KirkwoodâÂÂs research has received funding from national and regional agencies, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
From 2016 to 2019 she served on the International Joint CommissionâÂÂs Great Lakes Science Advisory Board, providing scientific advice on water quality issues affecting the Great Lakes basin.
Kirkwood has been featured in media on algal blooms and freshwater ecology and was profiled in the Canadian Science Publishing BlogâÂÂs âÂÂWomen in Scienceâ series in 2014.