Natalie LaFranzo
2018 Immediate Past Chair
Natalie LaFranzo earned a BS in Chemistry from Bradley University, and a PhD in Chemistry from Washington University in St Louis. Her graduate work was centered on an interdisciplinary NIH-funded project aimed at developing new chemical tools to study neurobiology and development.
As a graduate student, Natalie became active in the St Louis Section Younger Chemists Committee (YCC), and has served as Chair of the YCC since 2012. Throughout her graduate career, Natalie was also active in the Biotechnology and Life Science Advising (BALSA) Group, where she provided short-term consulting services to multiple biotech start-ups. Natalie is a member of the national YCC, and serves as the Communications Subcommittee chair, helping to publicize opportunities and information relevant to younger chemists.
Natalie is currently the US Customer and Technical Support Scientist at Horizon Discovery, a translational genomics company based in the UK. In this role, Natalie supports the cell line and genomics reference standards products, providing technical support for both assay design and troubleshooting. Previously, Natalie was a Project Scientist at Cofactor Genomics, a full-service next-generation DNA/RNA sequencing CRO, where she provided experimental design support to scientists interested in utilizing next-gen sequencing. Natalie has interests in entrepreneurship and the growth of small biotech businesses, and is also the Head Cheerleading Coach at Washington University in St Louis.
