Center for Synthetic Biology Announces Taylor Nichols, PhD, as Director of Research

The Center for Synthetic Biology (CSB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Taylor Nichols, PhD, as the Director of Research (DOR). Taylor joined the Center in March 2025 and will lead the Center’s research operation. The DOR is a key leadership position in the CSB that fosters the internal and collaborative spirit of the Center with alliances both internal and external to the University.

Taylor succeeds Ashty Karim, PhD, Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Northwestern, who held the position for two years. Her responsibilities will include working with CSB leadership, faculty and staff to help grow the research capacity of the Center and provide strategic direction for new research endeavors and partnerships. She will also contribute to long-term planning in support of the Center’s education, research, and outreach missions.

Taylor is an accomplished scientist and engineer with over a decade of experience across academia and industry developing strategic research initiatives, managing collaborative projects and driving technical project management. Taylor most recently worked as a scientist in product development at Xeris Pharmaceuticals where she conducted internal studies, supported external partnerships and coordinated technical project management efforts. Previously, at Evozyne, Inc., Taylor advanced protein engineering projects as both a research scientist and technical manager, holding roles of increasing responsibility.
Taylor holds a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Northwestern University where she worked in the lab of CSB co-director Danielle Tullman-Ercek. Her dissertation research focused on engineering bacterial microcompartments (MCPs) for the encapsulation of non-native metabolic pathways, notably developing a genomic integration platform to control cargo encapsulation in MCPs. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Biochemical Engineering at Northeastern University.

“We are excited to welcome Taylor to our team, and back to Northwestern, ” says Danielle Tullman-Ercek, co-director of CSB. “Taylor’s drive toward collaborative research was apparent during her training, and it was wonderful to see it flourish in her varied industry roles. We look forward to leveraging her extensive expertise as we continue to grow and innovate our synthetic research portfolio.”

“The Center for Synthetic Biology was an amazing community to be a part of during my time at Northwestern, and I am thrilled to return in this new role,” says Nichols. “It’s an honor to be back working among this brilliant team, and I’m excited to contribute to the groundbreaking work and continued success of the CSB.”

by Lisa La Vallee