American chemist Susan Daniel is a professor at Cornell University, where her research focuses on cell membranes and the creation of bio-electronic devices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she drew on her previous research to develop potential treatments for the deadly virus. You can learn more at philadelphia.name.
Susan became interested in chemistry in high school and decided to pursue it as a career. Her path eventually led her to biophysics and biomolecular engineering. Read on to learn more about the life of this talented scientist.
Susan Daniel’s Early Life
Susan was born and raised in Philadelphia. Her father had moved to Pennsylvania from Germany. She was the first in her family to attend college, where she discovered her passion for chemistry. She enrolled at Lehigh University to study chemical engineering.
While there, she joined Manoj Chaudhury’s lab, where he tasked her with studying the movement of liquid droplets on different surfaces. The results of this very first research project were published in the world-renowned scientific journal Science, even before she had completed her master’s degree.
Following this early success, Susan decided to pursue a Ph.D. and continue her research on droplet movement. She went on to develop a technology for manipulating liquids in tiny devices. This technology made it possible to precisely mix droplets and conduct temperature-sensitive chemical reactions. Her work was published and attracted international attention, leading to an invitation to collaborate with Nobel Prize-winning physicist Pierre-Gilles de Gennes.
Scientific Career and Interests
After completing her Ph.D., Susan was invited to join Paul Cremer’s lab at Texas A&M University. There, she became fascinated with biological interfaces and cell membranes. She began working on synthetic membrane analogs, which consisted of a double layer of lipids anchored to a solid base. This artificial structure closely resembled a real membrane and was capable of holding proteins. Susan then began using her invention for the electrophoretic separation of particles attached to this membrane.
In 2007, she joined the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University, where she led two research programs—one in biology and the other in surface science. Her attention returned to the lipids in membranes and their role in biological interactions, as well as how cells interact with viruses. Her goal became to isolate viruses for further study:
- She set out to isolate a virus for further research.
- She was able to determine the speed at which a virus’s genetic material transfers into cell membranes.
- Because membranes contain proteins and other molecules submerged in a lipid bilayer, Daniel believes that understanding the interaction of these lipids is the key to regulating membrane function, and that further research in this area will help her achieve her goal.
In addition, the scientist continues her research on the movement and merging of droplets, a topic she first explored during her Ph.D. studies.
Susan became one of the first developers of biomembrane platforms for replicating cellular processes on chips. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she began a collaboration with biochemist Róisín Owens, whom she had met at the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne. Together, they developed devices for quickly testing potential drugs against the new virus.
Susan then used her research on cell membrane fusion to identify targets for antiviral drugs. Her work in this area was funded by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. On July 1, 2021, she was named director of the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University.
Community Involvement and Hobbies
Susan Daniel is not only an accomplished scientist but also a public activist who advocates for the position of women in science. She is actively involved in events that promote science and increase the representation of women in STEM fields.
At Cornell University, she joined the Women in Science and Engineering group. In 2016, she led the graduate division and recruited the most diverse class in the history of the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
As for hobbies, Susan loves spending time in nature and going hiking. She has hiked a 200-mile route through the French Alps, explored the wilderness of Montana, and even had a close encounter with a moose and a bear. Her favorite peaks to climb are in New York’s Adirondack Park.
Susan Daniel believes that a healthy work-life balance is extremely important. That’s why she spends so much of her free time traveling and organizes hiking trips for her research group. In the warmer months, she enjoys walking and hiking, and in the winter, she loves to ski and snowboard. She truly makes time for everything that’s important to her.