Sign up for Virtual Chats here. | View Academic Calendar 2022-23 here. | Admissions for TLP Class of 2024 are closed | Admissions to BTech program are open. Deadline July 10, 2023. Click here to apply
Dr. Frances Ligler
Current Position
Professor at NC State and UNC Chapel Hill
Academic Advisory Board, Plaksha University
Education
Oxford University (D.Phil., D.Sc. Biochemistry)
Furman University (B.S. Biochemistry)
Bio
Frances S. Ligler is a biochemist and bioengineer who is a 2017 inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Ligler's research dramatically improved the effectiveness of biosensors while at the same time reducing their size and increasing automation. Her work on biosensors made it easier to detect toxins and pathogens in food, water, or when airborne.
In 1986, she joined the US Naval Research Laboratory, where she developed sensors to detect anthrax and botulinum toxin that were deployed during Operation Desert Storm. In 2012, she was named a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
In 2013, she left the US Naval Research Laboratory to become the Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received an honorary doctorate from Furman University in 2018.
Research Areas:
Biomedical Microdevices
Regenerative Medicine Research Interests: microfluidics, tissue on chip, optical analytical devices, biosensors, nanotechnology
Awards:
2018, Chair, 28th Anniversary World Congress on Biosensors, Miami
2017-2018, North Carolina State University Innovator of the Year
2017, Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Analytical Chemistry, ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry
2017, National Inventors Hall of Fame
2012, Presidential Rank of Meritorious Senior Professional, awarded by President Barack H. Obama
2005, National Academy of Engineering, Bioengineering Section, Councillor 2014-2017
2003, Presidential Rank of Distinguished Senior Professional, awarded by President George W. Bush
2003. Christopher Columbus Foundation Homeland Security Award (Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Field)
Elected Fellow: SPIE, AIMBE, AAAS, National Academy of Inventors