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Elizabeth Strychalski

Group Leader, Cellular Engineering Group

Dr. Elizabeth A. Strychalski received a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Rochester and a Masters and Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University.  She was awarded a National Research Council Postdoctoral Research Associateship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where she serves as a staff research scientist and Acting Group Leader of the Cellular Engineering Group. Dr. Strychalski completed a detail as a Program Manager in the Biological Technology Office (BTO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where she managed a funding portfolio to aggressively advance experimental and theoretical research at the interface of synthetic biology, control engineering, nanobiotechnology, and fluidic devices.  She returned to NIST to co-lead the Engineering Biology Team and found the Cellular Engineering Group. Her current research focuses on discovering and testing fundamental rules for the predictive design of engineered biological function across scales. Her multidisciplinary approach necessitates highly collaborative research, leveraging experimental, theoretical, and numerical techniques across the sciences and engineering.

 

Postdoctoral Research Opportunities

National Research Council Research Associateship Program at NIST:

Positions for non-US citizens:

  • Please contact Dr. Strychalski directly

 

Selected Publications (Google Scholar)

  • “Genetic Circuit Design Automation”
    A. A. K. Nielsen, B. S. Der, J. Shin, P. Vaidyanathan, V. Paralanov, E. A. Strychalski, D. Ross, D. Densmore, C. A. Voigt
    Science, Vol. 352, No. 6281, 10.1126/science.aac7341, 2016
  • “Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome”
    C. A. Hutchison, III, R.-Y. Chuang, V. N. Noskov, N. Assad-Garcia, T. J. Deerinck, M. H. Ellisman, J. Gil, K. Kannan, B. J. Karas, L. Ma,
    J. F. Pelletier, Z.-Q. Qi, R. A. Richter, E. A. Strychalski, L. Sun, Y. Suzuki, B. Tsvetanova, K. S. Wise, H. O. Smith, J. I. Glass, C. Merryman, D. G. Gibson, J. C. Venter, Science, Vol. 351, No. 6280, 10.1126/science.aad6253, 2016
  • “Rapid Prototyping of Nanofluidic Slits in a Silicone Bilayer”
    T. P. Kole, K.-T. Liao, D. Schiffels, B. R. Ilic, E. A. Strychalski, J. G. Kralj, J. A. Liddle, A. Dritschilo, S. M. Stavis
    Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Vol. 120, pp.252-269, 2015
  • “Dimensional Reduction of Duplex DNA Under Confinement to Nanofluidic Slits”
    F. Vargas-Lara, S. M. Stavis, E. A. Strychalski, B. J. Nablo, J. Geist, F. W. Starr, J. F. Douglas
    Soft Matter, Vol. 11, pp. 8273-8284, 2015
  • DNA Purification From Crude Samples for Human Identification Using Gradient Elution Isotachophoresis
    E.A. Strychalski, C. Konek, E. R. Butts, P. M. Valone, A. C. Henry, D. Ross
    Electrophoresis, Vol. 34, No. 17, pp. 2522-2530, 2013
  • A localized transition in the size variation of circular DNA in nanofluidic slitlike confinement
    E. A. Strychalski*, S. M. Stavis*, J. Geist*
    * These authors contributed equally
    AIP Advances, Vol. 3, No. 4, 042115, 2013
  • Quantitative Size Measurements of Linear and Circular DNA in Nanofluidic Slitlike Confinement
    E. A. Strychalski*, J. Geist, M. Gaitan, L. E. Locascio, S. M. Stavis*
    * These authors contributed equally
    Macromolecules, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 16021611, 2012
  • DNA Molecules Descending a Nanofluidic Staircase by Entropophoresis
    S. M. Stavis*, J. Geist, M. Gaitan, L. E. Locascio, E. A. Strychalski*
    * These authors contributed equally
    Lab on a Chip, Vol.12, No. 6, pp. 11741182, 2012
    Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research
  • Expanding the Capabilities of Microfluidic Gradient Elution Moving Boundary Electrophoresis for Complex Samples
    E. A. Strychalski, A. C. Henry, D. Ross
    Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 83, No. 16, pp. 63166322, 2011
  • Microfluidic Analysis of Complex Samples With Minimal Sample Preparation Using Gradient Elution Moving Boundary Electrophoresis
    E. A. Strychalski, A. C. Henry, D. Ross
    Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 81, No. 24, pp. 1020110207, 2009 Cover Article
  • Non-equilibrium Length-based Separation of Short DNA using Nanoslit Arrays
    E. A. Strychalski, H. W. Lau, L. A. Archer
    Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 106, No. 2, 024915, 2009 Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research
  •  Nanofluidic Structures with Complex Three Dimensional Surface Topographies
    S. M. Stavis, E. A. Strychalski, M. Gaitan
    Nanotechnology, Vol. 20, No. 16, 165302, 2009
    Featured in Nanotechnology 2009 Highlights collection
  • Diffusion of DNA in Nanoslits
    E. A. Strychalski*, S. Levy*, and H. G. Craighead
    * These authors contributed equally
    Macromolecules, Vol. 41, No. 20, pp. 7716-7721, 2008
  • Nanochannels Fabricated in Polydimethylsiloxane Using Sacrificial Electrospun Polyethylene Oxide Nanofibers
    L. M. Bellan*, E. A. Strychalski*, and H. G. Craighead
    * These authors contributed equally
    Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B, Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 1728-1731, 2008
    Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research
    Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology
  • Non-Planar Nanofluidic Devices for Single Molecule Analysis Fabricated Using Nanoglassblowing
    E. A. Strychalski, S. M. Stavis, H. G. Craighead
    Nanotechnology, Vol. 19, No. 31, 315301, 2008
    Cover Article
  • Electrospun DNA Nanofibers
    L. M. Bellan, E. A. Strychalski, and H. G. Craighead
    Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B, Vol. 25. pp. 2255-2257, 2008
    Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology
  • Size-dependent Mobility in Nanochannels
    J. D. Cross, E. A. Strychalski, and H. G. Craighead
    Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 102, No. 2, 024514, 2007
    Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science and Technology
  • Individually Resolved DNA Molecules Stretched and Embedded in Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers
    L. M. Bellan, J. D. Cross, E. A. Strychalski, J. Moran-Mirabal, and H. G. Craighead
    Nano Letters, Vol. 6, No. 11, pp. 2526-2530, 2006

Publications

Genetic circuit design automation

Author(s)
Alec Nielsen, Bryan Der, Jonghyeon Shin, Prashant Vaidyanathan, Douglas Densmore, Vanya M. Paralanov, Elizabeth A. Strychalski, David J. Ross, Christopher Voigt
Computation can be performed in living cells using DNA-encoded circuits that process sensory information and control biological functions. Their construction is

Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome

Author(s)
Elizabeth A. Strychalski, Clyde A. Hutchinson III, Ray-Yuan Chuang, Vladimir Noskov, Nacyra Assad-Garcia, Tom J. Deerinck, Mark H. Ellisman, John Gill, Krishna Kannan, Bogumil J. Karas, Li Ma, James F. Pelletier, Zhi-Qing Qi, Alexander Richter, Lijie Sun, Yo Suzuki, Billyana Tsvetanova, Kim S. Wise, Hamilton O. Smith, John I. Glass, Chuck Merryman, Daniel G. Gibson, J. C. Venter
We used whole-genome design and complete chemical synthesis to minimize the 1079–kilobase pair synthetic genome of Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0. An initial

Dimensional Reduction of Duplex DNA Under Nanofluidic Slit Confinement

Author(s)
Luis Fernando Vargas Lara, Jack F. Douglas, Samuel M. Stavis, Elizabeth A. Strychalski, Jon C. Geist, Brian J. Nablo
There has been much recent interest in the dimensional properties of duplex DNA under nanoscale confinement conditions as a problem of fundamental interest in
View more Publications
Created October 2, 2019, Updated January 6, 2020