Elizabeth Libby

Elizabeth Libby is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Northeastern University, where she joined in January 2021. Her research is affiliated with the Institute for Chemical Imaging of Living Systems, and she leads the Libby Lab focused on interdisciplinary biological engineering.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Physics, University of Pennsylvania, 2011
• BS in Physics, Stanford University, 2005

She completed postdoctoral training in Microbiology at Columbia University and served as a Departmental Fellow in Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School (2016-2020).

Dr. Libby's research integrates synthetic biology and microbiology to engineer predictably functioning biological systems through protein engineering, microbial genetics, and systems biology. Her work targets bacterial signaling mechanisms (particularly Ser/Thr kinases), antibiotic tolerance pathways, and biosensor development for both fundamental discovery and practical applications in combating resistance.

Analysis of her publications reveals a consistent trajectory from foundational studies of bacterial chromosome dynamics (2010-2015) toward applied synthetic biology solutions. Recent work (2021-2024) emphasizes single-cell biosensors and computational modeling of kinase signaling, while her 2015-2020 publications established critical links between phosphorylation networks, phenotypic variation, and antibiotic persistence in biofilms.

Her major recognitions include:

• NIH R35 MIRA Award ($1.96M, 2022) for research on bacterial Ser/Thr kinases in antibiotic resistance
• Harvard Medical School Departmental Fellowship in Systems Biology (2016-2020)

Dr. Libby directs an active research program funded by the NIH MIRA grant investigating bacterial signaling systems, with implications for next-generation antibiotics. She mentors students through projects like the 2024 iGEM competition entry that engineered compost microbes to produce mint/lavender scents, demonstrating translational applications of her lab's core biosensor technologies.

The Libby Lab operates at the intersection of molecular engineering and microbial physiology, maintaining strong affiliations with Northeastern's Institute for Chemical Imaging of Living Systems and collaborating on interdisciplinary initiatives including synthetic biology education and environmental biotechnology applications.