PhD Spotlight: Justin Hayes, PhD’25, Chemical Engineering

Justin Hayes, PhD’25, chemical engineering, focuses on understanding how gut microbial metabolism impacts human health. He is an inventor on the pending patent and founder and CEO of Concordance Therapeutics Inc. He was awarded the Northeastern University chapter of the National Academy of Inventors Student Innovation Impact Award.

After receiving a BS in chemical engineering and BA in Spanish from the University of Rhode Island, Justin Hayes, PhD’25, chemical engineering, began his PhD program at Northeastern in 2020 and is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. He is advised by Ryan Koppes, associate professor of chemical engineering, and Benjamin Woolston, assistant professor of chemical engineering. Hayes’ research focuses on understanding how gut microbial metabolism impacts human health. Insights from his research are being leveraged to develop probiotic therapeutics and medical foods for individuals suffering from gastrointestinal disease.

Hayes is an inventor on the pending patent “Methods to Modulate in vivo Levels of Hydrogen Sulfide by Engineered Organisms,” which he led and filed with Northeastern’s Center for Research Innovation. He is also the founder and CEO of Concordance Therapeutics Inc., a spinout company from his lab at Northeastern that he established as a PhD student. The company is developing medical food probiotics for patients with intestinal ulcers, bacterial overgrowth, and irritable bowel disease.

Hayes participated in national and global programs for innovators and startup leaders, including the National Science Foundation I-Corps, MassChallenge, and The Engine’s Blueprint program. He submitted three Small Business Innovation Research proposals on behalf of Concordance to the National Institutes of Health. In 2024, he was awarded the Northeastern University chapter of the National Academy of Inventors Student Innovation Impact Award.

Additionally, Hayes contributed to three peer-reviewed journal articles during his PhD studies, including a first-author paper in Cell Reports, and he has two research papers in progress. He also gave seven poster presentations and delivered two conference talks at academic and industry conferences.

In 2022, Hayes started the Synthetic Biology Super Group at Northeastern with Benjamin Woolston, assistant professor of chemical engineering. As the group’s leader, Hayes facilitated collaboration with the university’s synthetic biology research groups for research talks and seminars. Hayes also mentored seven undergraduate and graduate students in the lab while conducting his research.