Erb completed her PhD in astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 2005 and accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.
[1] While working in this role, she received an National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award worth $800,000 to conduct research on galaxy formation and evolution in the early universe.
[2] Erb subsequently published Feedback in low-mass galaxies in the early Universe which concluded that low-mass galaxies were vitally important to gain a better understanding of the universe's reionization.
[4] Likewise, she led research at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to examine a particular ultraviolet wavelength of light that illuminates a gaseous halo surrounding Q2343-BX418.
[5] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Erb was ranked in the top 2% of scientists around the world[6] and named Research Mentor of the Year.