Astrobiologist of the Month
December
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Every month we feature two astrobiologists from around the world. Our aim is for everyone to get to know each other, connect and network. If you would like to be featured, let us know here.
✉️ lauren [dot] seyler [at] stockton [dot] edu
🌎 Galloway, New Jersey, USA
Opportunities
Undergraduate students (for more information, click here)
LAUREN SEYLER
“My research uses a combination of cutting-edge tools in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and biogeochemistry to describe the dynamic interactions between microbial communities and their environments. These tools include DNA and RNA sequencing (metagenomics and metatranscriptomics), tracking microbial uptake of compounds of interest tagged with stable isotopes (stable isotope probing, or SIP), identification of the products and intermediates of cellular processes (metabolomics), and laboratory culturing of microbial species and consortia. The overarching goal of my research is to describe how microbes assimilate and remineralize carbon in aquatic and subsurface systems.”
Position
Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Stockton University
Career Pathway
Bachelor of Arts in Biology (Rutgers University), PhD in Biological Oceanography (Rutgers University)
Research Topics
Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry; Chemolithoautotrophy; Iron Cycling; Ocean Worlds
Why did you decide to become an Astrobiologist?
I've always been fascinated by life in all forms, from the microscopic to the macroscopic, and the interplay between the living and the nonliving world. I want to understand where the boundary is between life and nonlife, and what's happening chemically at that boundary. Plus, as an oceanographer, what could be cooler than finding life in an alien ocean?
If your lab/research group had a nickname, what would it be?
Dark Ecosystems Energy and Production (DEEP) Lab
Are you accepting students?
Undergraduate students (for more information, click here)