Elizabeth Robertson is a developmental biologist who uses mouse genetics to study the cell interactions that underpin development and immune recognition. Her early work helped to demonstrate that genetically altered embryonic stem cells in mice could be passed down to successive generations, allowing for the creation of mutant mice strains for research purposes.

She also studies the role that the TGF-β signalling pathway plays in mouse embryo development and cell fate determination. One particular success in this area involved her discovery of Nodal, a protein that plays an important part in setting out the early body plan in vertebrate embryos.

Elizabeth has received a number of awards in recognition of her work, including both the Edwin G. Conklin Medal and the Waddington Medal of the British Society for Developmental Biology in 2008 and 2009, respectively. She was also elected as a Member of EMBO in 2009.