Dr. Irene Reizman’s areas of expertise include biochemical engineering and biotechnology. Her research encompasses both a technical program, focused on undergraduate projects in biochemical engineering, and an engineering education component, examining the impacts of undergraduate research experiences on student mindset and educational outcomes. She is currently leading a student research project investigating the use of biosensors in industrial fermentation. Winner of the 2026 Board of Trustees Outstanding Scholar Award, Dr. Reizman previously worked for Whirlpool, Geno (now Again Bio), and SCHOTT AG, along with conducting project work at the Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany.
Academic Degrees
- PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015
- BSE, University of Michigan, 2008
Teaching Interests
- Biochemical engineering
- Chemical process and product design
- Reaction engineering
Research Experiences
- Metabolic engineering of microorganisms for renewable chemical production
- Bioprocess development
- Synthetic biology
- Student learning through undergraduate research experiences
Publications & Presentations
- B. Ajmera, H. Dillon, J. Dusek, I. Reizman. "Perceived Value of Undergraduate Research for Faculty Advancement." Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research (2026).
- I.M.B. Reizman, M. Nezafati, M.K. Marincel Payne, L. Liu, M.L. Benton, B.E. Johnson, M. Daniel, J. Rylander. "Assessing the effectiveness of entrepreneurial mindset-driven training materials for undergraduate researchers." ASEE Annual Conference (2025).
- C.S. Pirner, N.A. Palmer, I.M.B. Reizman. "Techno-economic assessment of a bioprocess for long-chain dicarboxylic acid production from vegetable oils: A case study for distillers corn oil." Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery (2022).
- A. Gupta, I.M.B. Reizman, C.R. Reisch, K.L.J. Prather. "Autonomous, Scalable and Pathway-Independent Strategies to Dynamically Modulate Metabolic Fluxes for Improved Microbial Production." Nature Biotechnology, 35(3): 273-279, (2017).
- I.M. Brockman, K.L.J. Prather. "Dynamic knockdown of E. coli central metabolism for redirecting glucose-6-phosphate fluxes." Metabolic Engineering, 28: 104-113, (2015).
Awards & Honors
- ÌÇÐĹÙÍø Board of Trustees Outstanding Scholar Award, 2026
- Council on Undergraduate Research Engineering Division Leadership in Undergraduate Research Award, 2026
- Alfred R. Schmidt Endowed Chair for Excellence in Teaching, 2022 - 2025
- Fellow of the Indiana Academy of Science, 2024
- German Ministry of Research and Education "Green Talents" Award for High Potentials in Sustainable Development, 2014