Asher Williams
Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering
Asher Williams’ research lies at the intersection of synthetic glycobiology, protein engineering, and immunoengineering.
Her work focuses on developing glycan-based tools and technologies to understand the role of carbohydrates in human health and disease. The Williams Lab seeks to harness biological tools to manipulate protein-carbohydrate interactions for therapeutic and biomedical applications - including drug delivery, vaccine development, and the design of diagnostic tools to better understand and treat disease.
Williams joined the Chemical Engineering Department at Columbia Engineering in 2023. Prior to that, she was a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University. She received her BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2015 from New York University and a PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2020 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Research Areas
- Biological and Life Science Engineering
- Gene and Drug Delivery
- Genomics Engineering
- Synthetic Biology
Additional Information
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Professional Affiliations
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- National Society of Black Engineers
- American Chemical Society
- Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
- Omega Chi Epsilon National Honor Society for Chemical Engineering
- National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- National Black Postdoctoral Association
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Honors & Awards
- Vaccine Luminary, G7 Global Vaccine Confidence Summit, 2021
- 1000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America, Cell Press, 2020
- MIT Rising Star in Chemical Engineering, MIT, 2020
- Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cornell University, 2020-2023
- Class of 2020 Changemaker, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2020
- Presidential Graduate Research Fellow, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2016 - 2018
- Founders’ Day Award, New York University, 2015
- Women in Science Scholar, NYU College of Arts & Science, 2014
- Trinidad & Tobago National Open Scholar in Science, 2011-2015
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Education
- PhD, Chemical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- BS, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University