Lydia Villa-Komaroff is an internationally recognized molecular biologist who served as a researcher at Harvard Medical School and vice president for research at Northwestern University, and who currently is the chief scientific officer of the Cytonome/ST research company.

Villa-Komaroff also was only the third Mexican-American woman to earn a doctorate in science in the United States, and throughout her career she has been deeply committed to recruiting and supporting scientists from underrepresented populations.

On Wednesday, October 3, Villa-Komaroff will present From Cloning to Cell Therapy: A Life in Science, this year’s César Chávez Intercultural Lecture at Elmhurst College.

Villa-Komaroff received her bachelor’s degree from Goucher College and her Ph.D. in cell biology from MIT. In addition to her work at Harvard, she has held research positions at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and Children’s Hospital in Boston. The Cytonome/ST company, where Villa-Komaroff serves not only as scientific officer but also as a board member, builds a cell processing system that can support rapid, sterile sorting of human cells for therapeutic use. She also was a key member of the research team that demonstrated that bacterial cells can produce insulin, and was one of six scientists profiled in the PBS series Discovering Women.

From Cloning to Cell Therapy: A Life in Science will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 3, in the Founders Lounge of the Frick Center. Admission is $10 for the general public and free for Elmhurst College students, faculty, staff and alumni. Tickets are available at the door or online. For more information, call (630) 617-3390.