Tidball was a longtime faculty member at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences (GW) where she became the institution's first woman appointed professor of physiology.

Her research in the 1960s on the career outcomes of graduates from women's colleges versus those from coeducational institutions sparked discussions that continued for decades.

[2] Tidball joined the faculty at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences (GW) in 1960.

She was a champion for women's colleges which, she believed offered advantages such as a larger proportion of female faculty members and administrators.

Criticisms of the study included the lack of controls for socioeconomic status and self-selection bias of student populations.

[2] Tidball received the president's medal from GW in 1999 and the order of merit from the Cathedral Choral Society.

In 1976, she assisted the chorus as it reestablished itself as a legal entity that was financially separate from the Washington National Cathedral.

Tidball and her husband, a GWU professor, donated and designed an organ stop and gargoyle to the cathedral.