Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP)

NAI Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

The NAI Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 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 NASA and the member teams of the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

NAI Postdoctoral Fellows become full members of the NAI and, as such, are included in the NAI database and on-line directory, invited to attend and submit abstracts for NAI General Meetings, given access to NAI collaborative tools, and are eligible for additional NAI funding opportunities. NAI Fellows have, therefore, a wide spectrum of opportunities for further collaboration with NAI researchers, as well as the broader scientific community. In this role, NAI Fellows act as ‘Ambassadors’ amongst the NAI Teams, and between the NAI and the broader scientific community, helping to define and lead the new field of astrobiology.

The NAI Postdoctoral Program is administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). Note that the NAI does not participate in every application/award cycle. The next award cycle that the NAI will be participating in will be the November 1, 2008 application deadline. For additional information about the program see http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc .

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