NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow School of Biological SciencesSchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Dr. Nadia Szeinbaum aims to understand the microbial metabolism linking the biogeochemical carbon and metal cycles. She does this work while serving as an example to the scientists around her that the life worth examining and living…

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Research Scientist Blue Marble Space Institute of Science It is my pleasure to recommend Dr. Graham Lau for the Maggie Turnbull early career award. I strongly believe Dr. Lau exemplifies the spirit of service within the early career astrobiology community, and beyond. A spirit of service is a selfless dedication to elevating causes that are…

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Ph.D Candidate School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, NSF/NASA Center for Chemical Evolution Georgia Institute of Technology A productive researcher whose work recently graced the cover of Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, David Fialho works to elucidate the chemical features and prebiotic processes that governed the formation of the earliest genetic polymers, but his commitment to sharing…

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Post-Doctoral Scholar Lawence Berkely National Lab  I am nominating Rebecca for her extensive work and dedication to the Astrobiology Graduate Conference over the past 4 years. She first attended the conference in 2014 and quickly became an indispensable member of the AbGradCon Team. She has been an organizer for the conference since 2016 when she…

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Ph.D Candidate School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Georgia Institute of Technology Adriana Lozoya is a Ph. D candidate in the Hud lab who explores the enzyme-free replication of nucleic acids in alternative solvents. After joining the NSF/NASA Center for Chemical Evolution (CCE) in 2014, she has never shied away from her power has a role…

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Ph.D. Candidate University of Cincinnati I wholeheartedly nominate my graduate student, Andrew Gangidine, for the Maggie C. Turnbull Early Career Service Award. Andrew is an exemplary graduate student who is working on an astrobiology project for his Ph.D. titled “Trace elements as a novel biosignature for life on early Earth and Mars.” He recently passed…

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Dr. Bradley Burcar Postdoctoral Researcher Georgia Institute of Technology Bradley Burcar has been extremely active in building the community of early career astrobiologists and he has also helped with a number of projects that directly engage the public. In 2014, while working on his Ph.D., he was the Lead Organizer of AbGradCon and the Research…

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Graduate Student Indian Institute of Science Education and Research – Pune Niraja V. Bapat is a graduate student in the Chemical Origins Of Life (COoL) Laboratory of Sudha Rajamani at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research – Pune (IISER-Pune). Niraja has a litany of professional accomplishments including publications and presentations, but perhaps more…

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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Carnegie Science Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA Svet’s research seeks to inform biosignature studies on Mars using rover-like instrumentation such as Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy. At the Carnegie Geophysical Laboratory, she studies carbon phases in Mars analog samples from Arctic sandstones to ancient lakes deposits, and in martian meteorites. She holds a…

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Ph.D Candidate Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry George Mason University Dr. Kamil Stelmach has been a fixture of the AbGradCon organizing committee for years. He contributes every year, even if he can’t attend in person. He’s always very responsive and an active member of the committee. He’s been a great contact with other organizations. In…

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