Leigh Harris is a quantitative cell biologist with a passion for understanding the physical and molecular mechanisms that shape cells and tissues. At the Allen Institute, she collaborates across experimental, analytical, and modeling teams, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to her work. Her expertise includes advanced live-cell imaging, quantitative analysis, mathematical modeling, molecular biology techniques, and tissue culture.

Leigh earned her Ph.D. in Biophysics from Stanford University, where her research in Julie Theriot’s lab redefined paradigms of bacterial morphogenesis by demonstrating how the interplay between surface and volume growth dictates cell size and shape. She continued her research as a postdoctoral fellow in David Bilder’s lab at UC Berkeley, where she studied growth coordination and basement membrane remodeling during organogenesis using the Drosophila ovary as a model system. She then performed postdoctoral research in Valerie Weaver’s lab at UCSF, focusing on biophysical signaling in 3D tissue culture models.

Leigh’s work has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Fellowship and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. At the Allen Institute she is thrilled to be part of an interdisciplinary team, applying her expertise to drive innovative research in cell and tissue morphogenesis.