Emma Chory

Emma Chory is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, affiliated with the Center for Advanced Genomics Technologies and the Center for Quantitative Biodesign. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University (2018) and a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT under Professors Kevin Esvelt and James Collins (2018-2023). Her research integrates directed evolution, high-throughput robotics, and chromatin biology to engineer precision biologics and combat human diseases. Key areas include therapeutic discovery, epigenetic regulation, and synthetic biology applications.

Education: B.S. Chemical Engineering (Northeastern University, 2012); M.S. (Stanford, 2014); Ph.D. (Stanford, 2018). Professional experience includes roles at Firefly Bioworks and Procter & Gamble, plus leadership in Northeastern's ChemE Capstone program. She has received prestigious awards including NIH postdoctoral fellowships and recognition for mentorship and innovation.

Her lab develops open-source tools like Pyhamilton and focuses on translational research in drug discovery and genome engineering. Notable projects include robotics-driven molecular evolution and CRISPR multiplexing methods. Recent work explores heritable immunization strategies for pathogen control and low-cost transgenesis techniques for disease vectors.

Awards include the 2020 NIH Kirschstein Fellowship, multiple Howard Hughes semi-finalist recognitions, and a 2018 Gordon Conference poster award. Her work has been featured in Nature Methods, Nature Biotechnology, and Cell, with over 30 peer-reviewed publications and multiple patents in therapeutic discovery and automation.