Frances S. Ligler

Frances S. Ligler is the Lampe Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at NC State University and UNC-Chapel Hill and an elected member and Councillor of the National Academy of Engineering. Before 2013, she was the Senior Scientist for Biosensors and Biomaterials at the US Naval Research Laboratory. She earned a B.S. from Furman University and both a D.Phil. and a D.Sc. from Oxford University.

Currently working in the fields of biosensors, tissue-on-chip, and microfluidics, she has over 400 full-length publications and patents, which have led to eleven commercial biosensor products and have been cited over 15,000 times with H=73 (GS). She is a Fellow of SPIE, AIMBE, AAAS and the National Academy of Inventors. She also serves on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Board on Chemical Science and Technology. She has been awarded the Homeland Security Award by the Christopher Columbus Foundation, the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Senior Professional by President Bush, and the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Senior Professional by President Obama. In 2014, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece. She is a 2017 inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.