Emily Balskus is an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University. She received a bachelor's degree in chemistry with highest honors from Williams College, serving as valedictorian. She received a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Cambridge in England, which she attended as a Churchill Scholar, followed by a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard, where she studied with Professor Eric Jacobsen. She then switched fields for her postdoctoral research with Professor Christopher T. Walsh at Harvard Medical School, exploring how photosynthetic bacteria synthesize sunscreens. Her independent research focuses on discovering new chemistry from microorganisms.
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