Email
emyoung@wpi.edu
Office
GP 4003, Life Sciences & Bioengineering Center, Gateway Park
Young Lab Website
Young Lab GitHub
WPI-MBI BioHub
WPI CERES
Affiliated Department or Office
Biomedical Engineering
Biology and Biotechnology
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Education
Postdoc, Biological Engineering, MIT 2013-2016
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering University of Texas, Austin 2013
B.S. Chemical Engineering University of Maine with Honors 2008
B.S. Biological Engineering University of Maine summa cum laude 2008

From a chemical engineer's point of view, cells are treated as a catalyst that converts reactants to products. We design new catalysts, or "cell factories," to solve problems in biofuels, biomaterials, and biosensors.  Our strengths are in the disciplines of metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, protein engineering, and systems biology. Our work has been recognized with the NSF CAREER Award, and is now part of one of the five national NSF Biofoundries. I also lead the effort to translate discoveries from the bench to the bioreactor at the WPI-MBI BioHub, which is powering the bioindustrial revolution in Central Massachusetts. Through interdisciplinary research, we collaborate across WPI, other institutions, and companies.

In the classroom, I train students within the unique project-based learning approach at WPI. To me, there is no greater reward than teaching a new generation of problem solvers that will make meaningful contributions to all areas of chemical engineering, and beyond. My teaching has been recognized at WPI and across the country - I am a former Leonard Kinnicutt Chair at WPI and a former Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Synthetic Biology Summer Course Instructor.

Visit Digital WPI to view student projects advised by Professor Young.

Email
emyoung@wpi.edu
Affiliated Department or Office
Biomedical Engineering
Biology and Biotechnology
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Education
Postdoc, Biological Engineering, MIT 2013-2016
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering University of Texas, Austin 2013
B.S. Chemical Engineering University of Maine with Honors 2008
B.S. Biological Engineering University of Maine summa cum laude 2008

From a chemical engineer's point of view, cells are treated as a catalyst that converts reactants to products. We design new catalysts, or "cell factories," to solve problems in biofuels, biomaterials, and biosensors.  Our strengths are in the disciplines of metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, protein engineering, and systems biology. Our work has been recognized with the NSF CAREER Award, and is now part of one of the five national NSF Biofoundries. I also lead the effort to translate discoveries from the bench to the bioreactor at the WPI-MBI BioHub, which is powering the bioindustrial revolution in Central Massachusetts. Through interdisciplinary research, we collaborate across WPI, other institutions, and companies.

In the classroom, I train students within the unique project-based learning approach at WPI. To me, there is no greater reward than teaching a new generation of problem solvers that will make meaningful contributions to all areas of chemical engineering, and beyond. My teaching has been recognized at WPI and across the country - I am a former Leonard Kinnicutt Chair at WPI and a former Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Synthetic Biology Summer Course Instructor.

Visit Digital WPI to view student projects advised by Professor Young.

Office
GP 4003, Life Sciences & Bioengineering Center, Gateway Park
ORCiD
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5276-2873
Young Lab Website
Young Lab GitHub
WPI-MBI BioHub
WPI CERES
Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 4: Quality Education - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Quality Education Goal

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Affordable and Clean Energy Goal

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Decent Work and Economic Growth Goal

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Goal

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Sustainable Cities and Communities Goal
Research Interests
Metabolic Engineering
Synthetic Biology
Protein Engineering

Scholarly Work

Professor Young’s research focuses on non-model microbial hosts, bio-security, and genomics.

Featured Works:
Z. Li, N.K. Sharma, S. Weintraub, E.M. Young. Combinatorial metabolic engineering of alkane biosynthesis in the osmotolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii CBS 767. Biotechnology and Bioengineering (2026)

C. Newton, M.C. McKee, A.M. Harrison, L.D. Revene, T. Fiore, A.M. Sassano, E.M. Young, S.C. Roberts. Metabolic engineering of Taxus chinensis suspension cell lines for overproduction of paclitaxel reveals insights into pathway regulation. Metabolic Engineering (2026)

S.J. Weintraub, Z. Li, C.L. Nakagawa, J.H. Collins, E.M. Young. Oleaginous yeast biology elucidated with comparative transcriptomics. Biotechnology and Bioengineering (2025)

E.E. Tobin*, J.H. Collins*, C.B. Marsan, G.T. Nadeau, K. Mori, A. Lipzen, S. Mondo, I.V. Grigoriev, E.M. Young. Omics-driven onboarding of the carotenoid producing red yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous CBS 6938. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2024)

K.W. Keating, E.M. Young. Systematic part transfer by extending a modular toolkit to diverse bacteria. ACS Synthetic Biology (2023)

J.H. Collins, K.W. Keating, T.R. Jones, S. Balaji, C.B. Marsan, M. Çomo, Z.J. Newlon, T. Mitchell, B. Bartley, A. Adler, N. Roehner, E.M. Young. Engineered yeast genomes accurately assembled from pure and mixed samples. Nature Communications (2021)

Book Chapters:

Z. Li, N.M. Petersen, E.M. Young. Synthetic Biology: An Overview. Reference Module in Life Sciences (Elsevier) (2026)

Z. Li, E.M. Young. Automated Genetic Engineering in the Laboratory. Transforming Molecular Biology with Emerging Technologies (Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 3043, Humana, New York) (2026)

Patents:

M. Rogers, A. Taggart, E.M. Young, N. Farny, N.K. Sharma, A.F.C. Rincón, J. Thompson. Microbial Subsurface Soil Sensors. (2026)

Alper, H., Young, E. M. & Lee, S. (2014) Engineered Xylose Transporters with Reduced Glucose Inhibition. (U.S. Patent No. 9,695,223). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Alper, H. & Young, E. M. (2013) Methods for Engineering Sugar Transporter Preferences. (U.S. Patent No. 9,926,347). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Professional Affiliations
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Society of Biological Engineering
International Metabolic Engineering Society
Tau Beta Pi
Professional Highlights & Honors
CAREER Award, 2020
National Science Foundation
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

News

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Announcements

Media Coverage

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Boston Business Journal
WPI to lead $5.2M effort to create new bioindustrial manufacturing tech hub

The state has selected WPI to lead a regional partnership to establish the "BioHub", an initiative designed to power growth in the bioindustrial manufacturing sector in Central Massachusetts and advance sustainable biomanufacturing, applied research, and workforce development.

Additional Publications: Telegram.com | Mass Live | Worcester Business Journal | USA Today | Yahoo! News | Bioengineer.org
Worcester Business Journal
Industry advocates seek to turn Central Mass. into a leader in bioindustrial engineering

WPI is highlighted as one of the major forces behind developing a bioindustrial manufacturing hub in Central Massachusetts. Eric Young, assistant professor of chemical engineering told the Worcester Business Journal “We can leverage what Massachusetts is great at, and map it to a broader bioindustrial landscape. We can use the strong base we already have, and add in a few extra pieces.”