Dr. Sara Walker of Arizona State University has been awarded the Stanley L. Miller Early Career Award from the International Society of the Study of the Origin of Life (ISSOL). The award recognizes exceptional contributions by early career scientists to origin of life studies.

Walker is supported by NASA Astrobiology as a principal investigator on an Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) grant. Her research focuses on novel experiments and models to determine and quantify universal properties of life. Walker’s ground-breaking work could lead to methods for identifying biosignatures of life, including life that is fundamentally different than anything we see on Earth today.

In a press release from Arizona State University, Walker commented, “When I started out in origins research I would never have thought this award would go to theoretical research focused on understanding what life is, because that was so far outside what most of the field was doing.”

Click here to read the press release from Arizona State University concerning Walker’s research and her recognition from ISSOL.