Liz Wayne, PhD

Advisory Committee Member

Dr. Elizabeth Wayne is an award-winning biomedical engineer, TED Fellow, speaker, and advocate for women in higher education. She is also the co-host of the show PhDivas Podcast (https://soundcloud.com/phdivas).

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Dr.Wayne received her bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and Moelis Access Science Scholar. Dr. Wayne continued her education at Cornell University, where her research on the role of immune cells in cancer progression and their potential as drug delivery carriers was supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute Physical Sciences in Oncology Network and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2016, Dr. Wayne earned her PhD in biomedical engineering where her work in immune cell-mediated drug delivery resulted in several publications and a technology patent. Dr. Wayne’s current research uses macrophages to delivery therapeutic genes to solid tumors.

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Dr. Wayne is a strong advocate for women in science and entrepreneurship. She has been a chief organizer in the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWIP) at Cornell as well as a panelist and workshop leader at CUWiPs held at Yale and Harvard. She has received awards for her advocacy including the Constance and Alice Cook Award. in 2017, Dr. Wayne was featured in the Super Cool Scientists: A Women in Science Coloring Book. 

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Dr. Wayne is currently a National Cancer Institute Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program Postdoctoral Fellow in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill. She was recognized as a 2017 TED Fellow for her cancer nanotechnology research and efforts to amplify voices of women in leadership and higher education through her podcast PhDivas. Dr. Wayne has been featured in various publications including Bust Magazine, Cornell Chronicle, and the LA Times.