NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

The NASA Astrobiology Program element of the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) provides opportunities for Ph.D. scientists and engineers of unusual promise and ability to perform research on problems largely of their own choosing, yet compatible with the research interests of the NASA Astrobiology Program.

The NASA Postdoctoral Program is administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). Note that the Astrobiology Program does not participate in every application/award cycle. The next award cycle that the Astrobiology Program will be participating in will be the November 1, 2012 application deadline. For additional information about the program see http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc.

Astrobiology Program NPP Fellows are included in on-line directory on the Astrobiology Program website and are given access to NASA Astrobiology Institute collaborative tools. Astrobiology Fellows may also act as ‘Ambassadors’ amongst the NAI Teams and/or the ASTID, ASTEP, and Exobiology teams of researchers, and between the Astrobiology Program and the broader scientific community, helping to define and lead the field of astrobiology.

The intent of this program is to develop outstanding early career astrobiology researchers, broaden the scope of Astrobiology Program research, and continue to build and integrate the astrobiology community. Accordingly, priority for selection will be given to applicants whose proposed research is particularly interdisciplinary and/or innovative. Research that involves one or more elements of the Astrobiology Program will also be given priority for selection, as will research that broadens the activities of the Program. Proposals for research that incrementally extend an ongoing projects will be given lower selection priority.

Year 2012 Fellows

• Jose Aponte
  Advisor: Jamie Elsila-Cook (NAI Goddard Center for Astrobiology Team)
  Topic: “Assessment of Isotopic Ratios and Enantiomeric Excess of Neutral Compounds and Amines Found on Carbonaceous Chondrites”

• Tammy Campbell
  Advisor: Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy (Exobiology: Prebiotic Evolution)
  Topic: “Non-Enzymatic Glycosylation of DNA Nucleobases to Develop Potentially Prebiotic Nucleic Acid Alternatives”

• Natascha Riedinger
  Advisor: Timothy Lyons (NAI Arizona State University Team)
  Topic: “The fate of molybdenum and its isotopes in deep, oxide-rich marine sediments: Implications for the Mo paleoproxy and oxygen in the ancient ocean”

• Erik Sperling
  Advisor: Andrew Knoll (NAI MIT Team)
  Topic: “Reconciling Ecological and Geochemical Triggers of the Cambrian Radiation”

Year 2011 Fellows

• Aaron Engelhart (Georgia Tech)
  Advisor: Jack Szostak (Exobiology: Prebiotic Evolution, Mass General/ Harvard)
  Topic: “Experimental Models of a Key Step in Prebiotic Compartmentalization: Coupling Vesicle Growth and Nucleic Acid Synthesis”

• Svetlana Berdyugina (ETH Zurich)
  Advisor: Karen Meech (NAI University of Hawaii Team)
  Topic: “Hot Water in Exoplanets and Protoplanetary Disks”

• Aaron Goldman (University of Washington)
  Advisor: Laura Landweber at Princeton University (NAI Georgia Tech Team)
  Topic: “ORGOS: A Database and Unified Organizational Framework to Aggregate, Evaluate, and Advance Origin of Life Research”

• Jordan Okie (Univ. of New Mexico)
  Advisors: Everett Shock (Exobiology: Early Evolution of Life and the Biosphere, Arizona State University) and Tori Hoehler (NAI, NASA Ames Team )
  Topic: “Thermodynamic and Kinetic Constraints on Metabolic Diversity: Quantifying the Biogeochemical Niche Space of Life”

• Paula Welander
  Advisor: Roger Summons (MIT)
  Investigating the Biological Function of Sterols and Hopanoids in Methylococcus capsulatus

• Matthew Herron
  Advisor: Frank Rosenzweig (University of Montana)
  Theoretical and Experimental Investigations into the Evolution of Complexity

• Betul Arslan
  Advisor: Eric Gaucher (Georgia Institute of Technology)
  The Role of Chance and Necessity in Evolution: An Experimental Model to Discover Life’s Solutions

• Melissa Rice
  Advisor: John Grotzinger (CalTech)
  High-Resolution Mineral Stratigraphy of Mars

• Arsev Aydinoglu
  Co-Advisors: Suzie Allard (University of Tennessee) and Ed Goolish (NAI Central)
  The Collaborative Practices of the NASA Astrobiology Institute: The Assessment of an Interdisciplinary Virtual Scientific Organization

Year 2010 Fellows

• Jennifer Glass
  Advisor: Victoria Orphan, Cal Tech
  Topic: Metal Bioavailability and Biosignatures in Methane-based Ecosystems

• Sara Imari Walker,
  Advisor: Paul Davies , Arizona State University
  Topic: First Life: Understanding Emergent Self-Replication through Informational Analysis of Self-Organization in Prebiotic Chemical Reaction-Diffusion Networks

Year 2009 Fellows

• Nancy Akerman
  Advisor: Julie Huber at the Marine Biological Laboratory
  Topic: Habitability in Extreme Environments: Microbial Function and Activity in Deep and Shallow Marine Hydrothermal Systems

• Neal Gupta
  Advisor: Roger Summons and George Cody, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, respectively
  Topic: Polymeric Biosignatures In Organismic Fossils And Environmental Controls On Their Preservation

• Siobhan Wilson
  Advisor: David Bish, Indiana University
  Topic: Hydrated sulfate minerals: a habitat for Martian microorganisms?

• Eric Boyd
  Advisor: John Peters, Montana State University
  Topic: Methanogenic Activity in Subglacial Ecosystems: Molecular Insight into Life-Sustaining Processes in Extraterrestrial Environments

• Henderson Cleaves
  Advisor: George Cody, Carnegie Institution of Washington
  Topic: A Search for Potentially Replicable Prebiotic Molecules

• Brant Jones
  Advisor: Ralf Kaiser, University of Hawaii
  Topic: Exploring the Astrobiological Significance of Ices of Kuiper Belt Objects

• Styliani Kafka
  Advisor: Alycia Weinberger, Carnegie Institution of Washington
  Topic: Forecasting Life: How is Space Weather Affecting Habitable Zones in Extrasolar Planets?

• William Brazelton
  Advisor: Matthew Schrenk, The Carnegie Institution of Washington and East Carolina University
  Topic: Tracing energy, carbon, and nitrogen flow in serpentinization-fueled microbial ecosystems

• Gregory Fournier
  Advisor Eric Alm, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Team
  Topic: Reconstructing the Evolution of Protein Synthesis: A Novel Compositional Approach for Studying Early Life and the Emergence of Complexity

• Jennifer Kyle
  Advisors: Linda Jahnke and Ken Stedman, NASA Ames Research Center and Portland State University
  Topic: Viral Preservation within Terrestrial Hot Springs

• Felisa Wolfe-Simon
  Advisors: Ariel Anbar and Ronald Oremland, Arizona State University Team and the USGS
  Topic: Arsenic and Old Life: Novel Geo-biochemistry of Arsenic in Biological Systems

Year 2008 Fellows

• Dina Bower
  Advisor: Andrew Steele, Carnegie Institution of Washington, NAI CIW Team
  Topic: Experimental Investigations on the Effects of Diagenesis on the Formation of Fe,Ti-oxides (Pseudorutile) in Microfossils: Using Minerals as Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks

• Mark Claire
  Advisor: Jim Kasting, Pennsylvania State University
  Topic: Biogenic Sulfur – from biospheres to biosignatures

Year 2007 Fellows

• Julien Foriel
  Advisor: Roger Buick, University of Washington , NAI University of Arizona Team
  Topic: Mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionation of selenium isotopes on the early Earth: a probe of planetary oxygenation

• Daiki Horikawa, Advisor: Lynn Rothschild, NAI Ames Research Center Team
  Topic: Tolerance of tardigrades to extremes: Implications for the existence of multicellular organisms in extraterrestrial environments.

• Steven Mielke, Advisor Nancy Kiang, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, University of Washington/VPL Team
  Topic: Molecular-Environmental Limits of Terrestrial Photosynthesis: Implications for Extrasolar Biosignatures

Year 2006 Fellows

• Oleg Abramov
  Advisor: Stephen Mojzsis, NAI University of Colorado
  Topic: Habitability of Early Earth: Thermal Modeling of the Lithosphere During the Late Heavy Bombardment.
• Jennifer Biddle
  Advisor: Andreas Teske, NAI Marine Biological Laboratory (UNC Chapel Hill)
  Topic: Molecular and Metabolic Characterization of Uncultivated Archael Groups of the subsurface
• Curtis Cooper
  Advisor: Alex Pavlov, University of Arizona
  Topic:Three-Dimensional Modeling of Habitable Zones and the Paleoclimates of the Terrestrial Planets
• Matt Pasek
  Advisor: Jonathon Lunine University of Arizona
  Topic: An investigation to the Relationship of Phosphorus and Sulfur Cosmochemistry to the Origin of Life

Year 2005 August Review

• Sean Raymond (Ph.D., University of Washington) Title: Comet Clouds, Terrestrial Impacts, and the Habitability of Planets in the Galaxy Advisor: John Bally , NAI Team: University of Colorado
• Shannon Hinsa (Ph.D., Dartmouth) Title: Understanding How Psychrobacter sp. 273-4 is Able to Live in Siberian Permafrost Advisor: James Tiedje , NAI Team: Michigan State University
• Melissa Trainer (Ph.D, University of Colorado) Title: The Evaluation of CO2 Clathrate Hydrate as a Possible Sink for Methane in the Martian Atmosphere: Fusing Laboratory Results with a Developing Mars General Circulation Model Advisor: Owen B. Toon , NAI Team: University of Colorado

Year 2005 February Review

• Feng Tian (Ph.D., University of Colorado) Title: Hydrodynamic Escape from Planetary Atmospheres NAI Advisor: James Kasting, Pennsylvania State University NAI Team: The Virtual Planetary Laboratory
• Elise Furlan (Ph.D., Cornell University)
  Title: Exploring the Birthplaces of Planets at High Angular Resolution in the Mid-infrared from the Ground and from Space
  NAI Advisor: Andrea Ghez, University of California, Los Angeles NAI Team: University of California, Los Angeles
• Matthew Owen Schrenk (Ph.D, University of Washington)
  Title: High-temperature, High-pressure Microcosms to Study the Bio-molecular Basis for the Upper Temperature Limits to Life
  NAI Advisor: George Cody, Carnegie Institution of Washington NAI Team: Carnegie Institution of Washington

Year 2004 August Review

• Evgenya Shkolnik (Ph.D., University of British Columbia) Title: Hot Jupiters, Hot Spots and Characterization of Extrasolar Planets NAI Advisor: Eric Gaidos NAI Team: University of Hawaii, Manoa
• Brandy Toner (Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley) Title: Low Temperature Weathering of Hydro-thermal Metal-Sulfide Deposits by Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria in the Deep-Sea NAI Advisor: Katrina Edwards NAI Team: Marine Biological Laboratory
• Jinling Huang (Ph.D., University of Georgia) Title: Horizontal Gene Transfer in the Evolution of Early Branching Eukaryotes NAI Advisor: Johann Gogarten NAI Team: Marine Biological Laboratory

Year 2004 February Review

• Julie A. Huber (Ph.D., University of Washington) Title: The Distribution of Early Life into Geographically Distinct Subseafloor Microbial Habitats: A Metagenomic Strategy NRC Advisor: Mitchell Sogin, Marine Biological Laboratory NAI Team: Marine Biological Laboratory
• Margaret C. Turnbull (Ph.D., University of Arizona) Title: Habitable Worlds in the Solar Neighborhood NRC Advisor: Sara Seager, Carnegie Institution of Washington NAI Team: Carnegie Institution of Washington
• Jamie E. Elsila (Ph.D., Stanford University) Title: Reactions of Aromatics in Extraterrestrial Ice Analogs: Potential Chemical Precursors of Life and False Biosignatures NRC Advisor: Max Bernstein, NASA Ames Research Center NAI Team: NASA Ames Research Center
• Aline Gendrin (Ph.D., University of Paris) Title: The Tinto River, Spain: A Terrestrial Analogue for Martian Exobiology NRC Advisor: John Mustard, Brown University NAI Team: Marine Biological Laboratory

Year 2003 August Review

• Corien Bakermans Title: How Low Can They Grow? Bacterial Physiology at Subzero Temperature Advisor: Michael Thomashow, Michigan State University NAI Team: Michigan State University
• Peter Sazani Title: Directed Evolution of an RNA Polymerase Ribozyme that Utilizes Highly Activated Monomers Advisor: Jack Szostak, Massachusetts General Hospital NAI Team: Harvard University
• Daniel Lessner Title: Oxygen Adaptation in the Anaerobic Methanogenic Archaeon Methanosarcina acetivorans Advisor: James Ferry, Pennsylvania State University NAI Team: Pennsylvania State University

Year 2003 February Review

• Matthew T. Hurtgen Title: The Oxygen Isotopic Composition of Proterozoic Seawater Sulfate: Implications for the Evolution of Earth’s Atmosphere Advisor: Andrew Knoll, Harvard University NAI Lead Team: Harvard University
• Giovanna Tinetti Title: Light-Curves and Disk-Averaged Spectra for Terrestrial Planets Advisor: Victoria Meadows, Jet Propulsion Laboratory NAI Lead Team: Jet Propulsion Laboratory-2

Year 2002 Fellows

• Susannah Malia McGuire Porter Title: Constraining the Effects of Preservational Bias on the “Cambrian Explosion”: The Early Animal Fossil Record of Australia Advisor: Bruce Runnegar, University of California, Los Angeles NAI Lead Team: University of California, Los Angeles
• Geoffrey Garrison Title: A Geochemical Study of Marine and Terrestrial Environments Across the Permian-Triassic and Triassic-Jurassic Extinction Events Advisor: Peter Ward, University of Washington NAI Lead Team: University of Washington
• Christopher Staples Title: The Evolutionary Connection Between Photosynthesis and Nitrogen Fixation Advisor: Robert Blankenship, Arizona State University NAI Lead Team: Arizona State University
• Seth Richard Bordenstein Title: Genomic Determination of Parasitism and Mutualism in Bacterial Endosymbionts Advisor: Jennifer Wernegreen, Marine Biological Laboratory NAI Lead Team: Marine Biological Laboratory
• Michael Smoliar Title: Re-Os Isotopic Study of Hydrothermal Processes in Ordinary Chondrites Advisor: Conel Alexander, Carnegie Institution of Washington NAI Lead Team: Carnegie Institution of Washington
• Tracy Beth Norris Title: The Evolution of Desiccation Tolerance in Cyanobacteria Advisor: Richard Castenholz, University of Oregon NAI Lead Team: Ames Research Center

Year 2001 Fellows

• Michelle Minitti Title: Chasing Water on Mars: A Geochemical Approach Utilizing Martian Meteorites Advisor: Laurie Leshin, Arizona State University NAI Lead Team: Arizona State University
• Alexander Pavlov Title: Organic and Sulfur Hazes in the Archean Atmosphere: Climate and Photochemical Consequences Advisor: Owen Toon, University of Colorado, Boulder NAI Lead Team: University of Colorado, Boulder
• Charles Boyce Title: The Use of Living Plants and Fossil Chemistry to Study the Morphological Patterns and Developmental Processes of Land Plant Evolution Advisor: Andrew Knoll, Harvard University NAI Lead Team: Harvard University
• Henry Scott Title: Stability of Organic Material in Icy Satellites Advisor: Russell Hemley, Carnegie Institution of Washington NAI Lead Team: Carnegie Institution of Washington
• Ruth Ley Title: Diversity and Function of the Sulfur-Cycling Community in Hypersaline Microbial Mats Advisor: Norman Pace, University of Colorado – Boulder NAI Lead Team: University of Colorado – Boulder
• Sara-Eva Martinez-Alonso Title: Identification and Study of Hydrothermal Systems on Mars Through Remote Sensing Advisor: Bruce Jakosky, University of Colorado – Boulder NAI Lead Team: University of Colorado – Boulder

Year 2000 Fellows

• Eric Gaucher Title: Using Functional Genomics to Infer the Biology and Chemistry of the Last Common Ancestor Advisor: Steven Benner, University of Florida NAI Lead Team: Scripps Research Institute
• Yanan Shen Title: Environmental Changes in the Context of Biological Evolution During Neoproterozoic on the Yangtze Platform, a Snowball Earth? Advis or: Andrew Knoll, Harvard University NAI Lead Team: Harvard University
• Mark Messerli Title: Physiological Regulation of Cytosolic pH in a Eukaryotic Acidophile Advisor: Mitchell Sogin, The Marine Biological Laboratory NAI Lead Team: The Marine Biological Laboratory
• Marc Kramer Title: Linking Earth Science and Astrobiology: Surface Hydrology and Microbial Ecology for Global Semi-Arid Ecosystems Advisor: David Peterson NAI Lead Team: NASA Ames Research Center
• Virginia Edgecomb Title: Hyperthermophiles of the Hydrothermal Vent Subsurface: Limits of Life and Extraterrestrial Analogs Advisor: Andreas Teske, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute NAI Lead Team: The Marine Biological Laboratory
• David Warmflash Title: Immunoassay Life Detection Test Advisor: David McKay, NASA Johnson Space Center NAI Lead Team: NASA Johnson Space Center