Affiliations

• Molecular Biophysics Portfolio Program
• Biochemistry Graduate Program
• Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
• John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies
• Council Member, Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC)
• Steering Committee for the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS)
• Steering Committee for the Center for Environmental Health – CHEER (UT Dell Medical School)
• Senior Editor, mSystems
• Guest Editor, RNAs and Their Intracellular Processing During Oxidative Stress (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
• Guest Editor, Methods Journal Edition: Methods and Advances in RNA Characterization and Design
• Editorial Committee, Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Educational Qualifications

• Ph.D., Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University (2008)
• B.S.E., Chemical Engineering, Princeton University (2003)
• NIH Postdoctoral Fellow (Infectious Diseases), Division of Developmental Genetics and Bioinformatics, Wadsworth Center-New York State Dept. of Health, Albany, NY (2008-2010)
• Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Biochemistry. Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Vienna, Austria (2010)

Recent Honors and Awards

• 2024 William W. Grimes Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering, AIChE Minority Affairs Community
• 2023 Heman Sweatt Legacy Award (UT-Austin), Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE)
• 2023 Cockrell School Award for Contributing to Equity in Engineering – Faculty Award
• 2023 Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE) Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Early Career Award (2021)
• Barbara McClintock Life Sciences Lecturer, Cornell University (2021)
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE) Minority Faculty Affairs Committee (MAC) Gerry Lessells Award (2020)
• American Chemical Society (ACS)  Biotechnology Division Young Investigator Award (2020)
• Elected to The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) (2019)
• Mellichamp Emerging Leader Lecture (2018)
• Cornell Chemical Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award (2018)
• Biotechnology and Bioengineering Daniel I.C. Wang Award (2016)
• Teaching Excellence Award in Chemical Engineering, TAChE Award (2015)
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineering (SHPE) Young Investigator Award (2015)
• Health and Environmental Institute (HEI) Walter E. Rosenblith New Investigator (2015-2018)
• Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program (NHARP) Early Career Program (2014-2016)
• NSF CAREER Award (2013-2018)
• Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Young Investigator (2013-2016)
• Warfield Center Faculty Teaching Award (2013)
• Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Young Investigator (2011-2013)
• Innovative Early-Career Frontiers of Engineering Educator (2011)
• Keystone Symposia Fellow on Molecular and Cellular Biology (2011-2012)
• FASEB Postdoctoral Development and Enrichment Award (2009)
• Edna and William Hooey Award, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University (2007)
• NSF IGERT Fellowship in Mathematical Nonlinear Systems (2004)

Meet Dr. Contreras (Selected articles)

• Cobb, S. A., Boklage, A., Watson, D., Hunt, G., Contreras, L. & Borrego, M. Social Capital Development Through a Postdoc Future Faculty Program: Community Building and Mentorship. Innovative Higher Education (2025).
• PNAS Special Feature Blog: RNAs and Their Intracellular Processing During Oxidative Stress (2024)
• Fleming, G. C., Cobb, S. A., Watson, D., Boklage, A., Borrego, M., Contreras, L. & Julien, C. Seed Grant Programs to Promote Community Transformation in Higher Education Institutions. Educ. Sci. 14(10), 1121 (2024).
• News Medical, Life Sciences. Cadmium linked to DNA damage and morphological changes caused by particulate matter.
• Bass, B. & Ha, T. Decoding RNA mysteries: a new era for biology and medicine (2024).
• Podcast Episode, Issues in Science and Technology: A Road Map for a New Era in Biology and Medicine.
• Mastronardi, M., Conteras, L. & Borrego, M. A Mentoring Program for First Year Engineering Graduate Students. Advances in Engineering Education. Advances in Engineering Education. (Accepted).
• Podcast Episode, NEGRAS: Lydia Contreras Martínez, dejando huellas en la Ingeniería
• Fleming, G. C., Hunt, G., Watson, D., Mastronardi, M., You, S., Contreras, L., Borrego, M. & Smith, M. J. T. A New Hybrid Model for Faculty Hiring Workshops. J STEM Edu: Innovations and Research, 24:1 (2023).
• Wang, S., Marr, L. C., Contreras, L. M., Theis, F. J. & Nurse, P. The challenges in finding your home as a multidisciplinary scientist. Cell 185, 2623-2625 (2022).
• LatinXperts: Ep. 28 – What is the experience of being a woman of color in a STEM field?
• 2019 Featured on The Impact of Chemicals on Health on ImpactMania.com
• 2018 Featured on Finding Answers to water Contamination on Rio Grande on CONTEXERE: Weaving Stories of Research and Collaboration (Page 12)
• 2018 Featured on KVUE (ABC Austin) news
• 2013 Featured as a Research Spotlight by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular biology (ASMBM)