Dr. Ashley Libby is an emerging leader in developmental biology whose innovative work bridges stem cell biology, bioengineering, and genomics. She currently serves as Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto where she leads an interdisciplinary research program investigating the fundamental mechanisms of embryonic development. Dr. Libby earned her BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology with minors in Mathematics, French, and Chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 2014 before pursuing her PhD in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology at the University of California, San Francisco under the mentorship of Drs. Bruce Conklin and Todd McDevitt. During her doctoral studies, she received the prestigious NIH NRSA F31 Predoctoral Fellowship to support her groundbreaking research on stem cell morphogenesis. Following her PhD, she expanded her expertise through an EMBO Long-term Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Francis Crick Institute in London working with Dr. James Briscoe.
Dr. Libby's pioneering research focuses on unraveling the complex interplay between cell intrinsic fate decisions and tissue scale morphogenesis during neural tube formation, a critical process in embryonic development. Her doctoral work developed innovative CRISPR-based assays, machine learning classifiers, and 3D organoid systems to study self-directed multicellular organization and gastrulation patterning using induced pluripotent stem cell models. During her postdoctoral training, she investigated the genetic regulation of stem cell populations that give rise to the neural tube by combining in vivo CRISPR techniques, lineage tracing, and live imaging. Her current research program continues to explore how feedback loops connect individual cells to population level behaviors during development, with significant implications for understanding congenital disorders and advancing regenerative medicine approaches. Her interdisciplinary approach has established new methodologies for engineering morphogenesis of stem cell models that mimic trunk formation across species.
Dr. Libby has rapidly established herself as a rising voice in developmental biology, contributing to key advances in understanding how complex tissues emerge from limited cell populations during embryogenesis. Her work has been recognized with prestigious fellowships including the EMBO Long-term Postdoctoral Fellowship and the NIH NRSA F31 Predoctoral Fellowship, and she has been invited to present her research at major venues including the Society for Developmental Biology Ethel Browne Harvey Postdoctoral Seminar Series. As she builds her independent laboratory at the University of Toronto, Dr. Libby is developing novel approaches that integrate bio-engineering, organoid protocol development, embryology, and genomics to address fundamental questions in developmental biology. Her lab's innovative strategies for creating interdisciplinary approaches to studying neural tube formation position her to make significant future contributions to understanding developmental disorders and advancing stem cell-based therapies. Dr. Libby remains committed to scientific outreach and mentorship, actively supporting the next generation of researchers in developmental biology.
