Laurie Boyer

Laurie A. Boyer is an American biologist who is a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on the regulation of cell fate decisions and how faulty regulation leads to disease using human stem cells and mice as models.

Early life and education
Boyer is from Western Massachusetts. She became interested in science and biology while in high school. She was an undergraduate student at Framingham State University where she studied biomedical sciences. She earned her PhD at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where she researched chromatin remodeling enzymes. Boyer was a postdoctoral researcher at the MIT Whitehead Institute.

Research and career
Boyer focuses on how cells make decisions early in development to give rise to tissues and organs and how faulty regulation leads to disease with a focus on the heart.

Awards and honors

 * 2006 Scientific American World's 50 Top Leaders in Research, Business or Policy
 * 2007 Framingham State University Honorary Doctorate
 * 2008 Pew Scholars Award in the Biomedical Sciences
 * 2009 Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Science
 * 2012 Irvin and Helen Sizer Career Development Award
 * 2013 American Heart Association Innovative Research Award