Elizabeth Hénaff was born of French/American parents, grew up in France, and has
since lived in the US, Japan and Spain. Her academic trajectory started with a
Bachelors in Computer Science, followed by a Master’s in Plant Biology (both from
UT Austin) and a PhD in Bioinformatics from the University of Barcelona.
At the center of her research is a fascination with the way living beings interact with
their environment. This inquiry has produced a body of work that ranges from
scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, to projects with landscape architects, to
working as an artist in environments from SVA to the MIT Media Lab. She has made
contributions to understanding how plants respond to the force of gravity, how
genome structure changes in response to stress, and most recently has turned her
attention to the ubiquitous and invisible microbial component of our environment.
Some recent highlights include the design for the bioremediation of a local toxic
Superfund site which won a design competition, had a gallery exhibit, and a
scientific publication. Her work with the MIT Media Lab led to the development of a
novel approach to urban microbiome sampling using honeybees, an exhibit at the
2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, and a curriculum for international workshops.
She has consistently made the tools - software, wetware, hardware - needed to
answer her research questions.
She currently holds a postdoctoral position at the Weill Cornell Medical College in
New York City.