Exobiology: Early Evolution of Life and the Biosphere

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects at a NASA Center, NASA Headquarters, or at a NASA-affiliated research institute. These one- to three-year fellowships are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology. This specific opportunity focuses on research into the early evolution of life to determine the nature of the most primitive organisms and the environment in which they evolved. The research investigates two natural repositories of evolutionary history available on Earth: the molecular record in living organisms and the geological record. Research areas include: determining when and in what setting life first appeared; understanding the phylogeny and physiology of microorganisms including extremophiles; investigating biological energy transduction, membrane function, and information processing; examining the development of key biological processes and their environmental impact; studying the response of Earth's biosphere to extraterrestrial events; investigating the evolution of genes, pathways, and microbial species subject to long-term environmental change; and studying the coevolution of microbial communities and their interactions that drive major geochemical cycles. Selected fellows are expected to attend the Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) and/or the Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) using the travel funds provided as part of the NPP award.