Sarah Elisabeth Pierce
About Sarah Elisabeth Pierce
Sarah Elisabeth Pierce is a postdoctoral researcher currently at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, specializing in cancer biology and genetic engineering. She has a strong academic background with a PhD from Stanford University and has contributed to significant research in CRISPR screening and chromatin accessibility.
Work at Broad Institute
Currently, Sarah Elisabeth Pierce serves as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She has been in this role since 2023, focusing on projects related to genetic engineering and protein evolution in David Liu's lab. Her work involves advanced research methodologies and contributes to the institute's mission of improving human health through innovative science.
Education and Expertise
Sarah Elisabeth Pierce holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Cancer Biology from Stanford University, where she studied from 2016 to 2022. Prior to her doctoral studies, she earned dual Sc.B. degrees in Neuroscience and Biology with Honors from Brown University, completing her undergraduate education from 2012 to 2016. Her academic background provides a strong foundation for her research in cancer biology and genetic engineering.
Previous Research Experience
Before her current position, Sarah worked at Eikon Therapeutics as a Scientist from 2021 to 2023, where she contributed to various research initiatives. She also gained valuable experience as a Graduate Student at Stanford University from 2016 to 2022. Earlier in her career, she served as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University, from 2012 to 2016, where she engaged in foundational research projects.
Research Contributions
Sarah Elisabeth Pierce has co-authored significant research papers, including a publication in Nature Communications in 2021 that detailed a method combining high-throughput CRISPR screening with single-cell epigenomic read-out. Additionally, she contributed to the development and validation of new CRISPR screening methods in 3D spheroids, published in Nature in 2020. Her research has advanced the understanding of cancer biology and genetic engineering techniques.
Key Discoveries
During her research, Sarah discovered a novel role for the tumor suppressor liver-kinase B1 (LKB1) in modulating chromatin accessibility states in non-small cell lung cancer. This finding adds to the body of knowledge regarding cancer mechanisms and highlights her contributions to the field of cancer research.