Cabrera Catherine R.

Catherine R. Cabrera is the Leader of the Biological & Chemical Technologies Group, at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Dr. Cabrera has been developing engineering approaches to address urgent needs in biodefense and pathogen countermeasure for 25+ years, focused on translating research into operational capabilities. Her expertise includes chemical and biological engineering, molecular diagnostics and pathogen ID, systems analysis, biomanufacturing, and rapid medical countermeasure development. She received her B.A. degrees in Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering from Rice University and her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Washington. Her PhD research was focused on developing fieldable technologies to detect pathogens in resource-limited environments. She maintained that focus when she joined MIT LL in 2002, initially working on hardware and software development for biowarfare agent ID, again for field-forward applications. Dr. Cabrera has been part of several R&D 100 award-winning teams, including one for the PANTHER automated cell-based bioaerosol sensor, which has since transitioned to operational use for building protection and plant pathogen detection. She currently oversees a diverse program portfolio, which includes chem/bio threat identification, characterization, and mitigation; cyber/bio security; biotechnologies for resilient supply chains; microbiome and human health & performance; and engineered and synthetic biology R&D. She is a current member of the National Academies Standing Committee on Biotechnology Capabilities & National Security Needs.