Hosted at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Proposal Writing Retreat (PWR): June 7th – 10th, 2024, Adirondacks Conference: June 10th – 14th, 2024 Applications are now open until April 5th! The Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) is organized by graduate students for early career scientists who study the complex and diverse topics that astrobiology encompasses. For over two decades, this conference has been an integral part of the astrobiology community of graduate students and postdocs by fostering small group discussions, scientific presentations, and social […]

We’re excited to welcome Aarti Balana, who will be working with Dr. Fathi Karouia. Here is a message from Aarti herself: I am Aartii Balana, and I am an explorer and always strive to be a better version of myself. I recently got the opportunity of Visiting Scholar at BMSIS under the guidance of Dr. Fathi Karouia. I have 4 to 5 years of working experience in Hong Kong, as a Data Scientist where my main focus was on training […]

Joining us in February of 2024 is Crystal Han, who will be working through NASA Ames with Drs. Sylvain Costes and Lauren Sanders. Crystal graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and minor in Bioinformatics. She then received a Master’s degree in Bioinformatics from San Jose State University in December 2021. Her research project involved building data pipelines to perform differential gene expression analyses. Prior to joining GeneLab, Crystal worked as a research data analyst in Dr. Frank […]

Rajat Bhushan Gupta is an Astrobiologist with a background in engineering and data science with a deep commitment to interdisciplinary research and education. He is currently pursuing master’s in the biology of extreme environments from the University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy. He blends technology with life sciences to explore the origins of life and life beyond Earth. Rajat has over a decade of experience in Python, machine learning, and data science, having worked in diverse industries—ranging from healthcare […]

We’re excited to have Dr. Barbara Novak joining BMSIS as a Staff Scientist through the NASA GeneLab at Ames Research Center. Dr. Novak will be working with Drs. Sylvain Costes (NASA Ames) and Lauren Sanders (BMSIS). Dr. Novak is an experienced bioinformatician with over 15 years of industry experience providing bioinformatics support for genomic assay product development. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the California Institute of Technology, but quickly decided that she’d rather solve computational challenges. Barbara […]

By Jenna Cammerino We’ve all wished upon stars or maybe even shouted at the moon, but sometimes it just feels like the Universe never answers our calls. Well, as it turns out, the Universe is actually singing to us. In late June this past summer, a set of papers was put out by NANOGrav consisting of over 15 years worth of data collection describing the very phenomenon. NANOGrav stands for the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves and it […]

The Lost City Hydrothermal Field is a unique vent field located in the Atlantic Ocean along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This vent system is the only one discovered so far on Earth to have been created through a process called “serpentinization”, a chemical and geological interaction between Earth’s mantle and seawater. Hydrogen is produced here as a by-product of the reaction, which fuels the generation of compounds that are considered the precursors of DNA and could possibly give clues as to […]

Hello! My name is Beatriz Akiti, I am currently finishing my studies as an undergrad student in the University of São Paulo, in Brazil. Since I was a child, I have had a great curiosity about our own world and the worlds beyond. I loved investigating and understanding our relationships with the living beings around me and the way everything worked. Not only did this influence my interest in sustainability, but it was my great inspiration for me to pursue […]