Built in Boston: How Northeastern Shaped a Future Leader in Genetic Medicine
Portrait of Austen Herlihy. Courtesy photo.
Austen Herlihy, E’25, bioengineering and biochemistry, works as a research associate at a lab affiliated with Harvard Medical School. She plans to pursue a PhD with the goal of advancing science and improving the lives of people affected by genetic diseases.
Austen Herlihy completed her bachelor’s degree in bioengineering and biochemistry at Northeastern last spring. Her love of science took hold early in high school, when she began noticing how her science courses connected to and built on one another. Coming into college without a fixed direction, she knew she wanted to explore as many areas of science as possible. Engineering appealed to her natural problem-solving instincts and her preference for project-based work, and bioengineering stood out among possible concentrations for the way it drew from multiple scientific fields—a degree, she explains, that would “not push you in one direction.” She later added biochemistry to broaden her foundation and better prepare herself for lab work.
Herlihy found Northeastern through her father, who works at the university, which made it financially practical. Beyond that, the Co-op Program and the university’s experiential learning model appealed to her—she valued the idea of a distinctive education that prepared students concretely for the workforce. Having grown up just outside of Boston, she had also come to love the city and appreciated Northeastern’s location at the heart of it.
Co-ops and Extracurriculars
Herlihy’s first co-op was at the MIT BioMicro Center, a lab that processes biological samples for genetic sequencing—a technique used to read the DNA or RNA of an organism. Her primary role was maintaining the quality of samples brought in for sequencing, ensuring they were stored correctly and properly prepared for testing. As her first wet lab experience, it introduced her to how an academic research environment operates and gave her foundational skills in experimentation and microbiology.
Her second co-op took her to Selecta Biosciences (now Cartesian Therapeutics), where she joined the immunology team working on animal-based trials testing potential treatments for diseases such as diabetes. The experience gave her an industry-focused perspective on the kind of science she wanted to pursue, and she came away with stronger communication skills and lasting connections with colleagues.
Outside the lab, Herlihy’s main involvement was club rugby. She joined in her first year—deep in the Zoom era of the pandemic—drawn in by the team’s energetic presence. With three practices a week, the commitment was substantial, but the community she found was worth it. She served on the executive board for several years and eventually as vice president, handling the behind-the-scenes logistics of practices, games, and tournaments. The experience gave her a genuine appreciation for what it takes to build and sustain a community. “Communities like this do not just happen,” she says. “There are people who are intentionally putting the work in to make this club something that people want to join—but it’s always so worth it.” She recommends club sports to any student looking for both a physical outlet and a social one.
Research Roles
Herlihy with her lab group and advisor. Courtesy photo.
In her fourth year, Herlihy joined the Godoy-Carter Microbiology Lab at Northeastern, working on a project studying microorganisms that thrive in extreme environments—deserts, polar regions, and similarly harsh conditions. She was particularly drawn to the vividly pigmented samples in the collection: striking orange, blue, and pink bacteria. She investigated whether that unusual pigmentation might serve as a survival mechanism in such demanding conditions. The project grew substantially, and Herlihy applied for PEAK funding, receiving the Summit Spring 2025 Award for her efforts. She valued both the intellectual freedom the lab gave her and the recognition that came with the award—a signal that the university considered her research worthwhile. It was also her first experience running her own project from end to end, teaching her how to manage and organize her own experiments. The most important lesson, she says, was learning that in biology, the experiments set the schedule—and that adapting to that reality requires patience.
Her Engineering Capstone final project gave her more of the same. Her team explored how to engineer a specific strain of algae to produce more oil, with the goal of developing it as a sustainable fuel source. Working in the new wet lab space in EXP, she gained experience not only in executing experiments but in the considerable work of planning them in the first place.
Herlihy is currently a Research Associate II at the Abu Goot Lab, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. The lab focuses on developing biomolecular and biological treatments that could be applied broadly across a range of diseases, rather than targeting a single condition. Her primary project involves RNA trans-splicing—an approach that replaces an entire section of RNA, the molecule that carries genetic instructions within cells, with a corrected version, rather than attempting to fix a single gene mutation. Because many different mutations can give rise to the same disease, this strategy aims to engineer an RNA molecule capable of treating all patients with that disease, regardless of their specific mutation.
Most of her days are spent running experiments in the lab, and she values the freedom to design those experiments herself—a level of autonomy not always extended to early-career researchers. The role is also building her independence and resilience, teaching her to troubleshoot setbacks and keep moving forward when results don’t arrive as planned.
Mentorship and Reflection
One of the most meaningful experiences of Herlihy’s time at Northeastern was a Dialogue of Civilizations she took in 2024 with Professor Veronica Godoy-Carter, traveling to Chile to collect environmental samples for analysis. Beyond its scientific value, the experience gave her a vivid model of what it looks like to be a woman thriving in STEM. Professor Godoy-Carter is both a rigorous scientist and someone who clearly loves her work—and that warmth and enthusiasm extend to her students. “It’s always easy to ask questions,” Herlihy says, “and I am never scared to say I made a mistake”—an atmosphere she credits directly to Professor Godoy-Carter, and one that made her eager to continue working in her lab back in Boston.
Herlihy and her Capstone group. Courtesy photo.
She also highlights Teaching Professor Micheal Jaeggli, associate dean of undergraduate education, who taught her Bioengineering Measurement, Experimentation, and Statistics course. The class applied mathematical methods to biological research, and Professor Jaeggli had a talent for breaking down the material and grounding it in real-world applications—making it more engaging than it might otherwise have been. He later served as her Capstone Project advisor, and she appreciated his clear communication and steady guidance throughout.
Reflecting on her Northeastern experience, Herlihy’s main regret is not seeking out opportunities sooner. The university offers a wealth of them—research positions, Dialogues, co-ops, and more—but “you have to go out and look for them.” Her advice to current students is simple: take chances and get involved however you can. “Join a club, and if you don’t like that one, join another one.” College is a time for exploration, and Northeastern, she notes, “is a big enough school that there is something for every type of person—you just have to be willing to look around for it.”
Next Steps
Herlihy plans to pursue a PhD in gene therapy or genetic engineering, though she is keeping her options open. She is grateful to Northeastern for giving her the space and support to explore her interests across every experience she pursued. She loves the research environment—particularly in academia—and hopes one day to become a professor, passing her passion for discovery on to the next generation of scientists. For now, she is glad to be contributing to research on genetic diseases, motivated by both the thrill of pioneering new science and the real-world impact it could have on people living with these conditions. That sense of purpose is what keeps her grounded when the day-to-day work feels overwhelming—and what will continue to drive her forward.