Nancy Allbritton


Nancy Allbritton is a Professor of Bioengineering and Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Washington. Until the end of October 2019, she was a Kenan Professor and Chair in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.
She is best known for her work in single-cell analysis. Using engineering methods, Allbritton creates tools for better understanding and manipulating living cells and tissues. Microengineered platforms, microfluidics, and novel biochemical assays enable scientists to study cell signaling and signal transduction at the single-cell level.

Education

Allbritton studied at Johns Hopkins University for a M.D in medicine and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a Ph.D in medical engineering in the 1980s.

Research interests

Allbritton's interest in single-cell analysis have hinged on the use of capillary electrophoresis and microfabricated technologies. Through this work she has studied lipid signaling at the single-cell level, the isolation cytotoxic t-cells with specific properties, and the capture of colonic crypts. In the organ-on-a-chip field, Allbritton has focused on developing devices that effectively capture the environment of both the small and large intestine.

Awards